Burglars ransacked SW Dade Verizon store, stole hundred of dollars in merchandise
MIAMI
- More than a thousand dollars worth of merchandise was stolen during a break-in at a cell phone store in southwest Miami-Dade.
Surveillance video from the Verizon store on Bird Road at 99th Avenue shows a person hurling a rock at the glass front. With broken glass everywhere, police said it appears two people then smashed through the front door, ransacked the store, and then fled, leaving the big rock behind.
The store's alarm went off but an employee said the burglars were gone within minutes.
"I got a call that the alarm system went off around 2:30 a.m. and they went in through the front window and I could hear people inside. This was a scary situation and they did take quite a few things," said store manager Shantalle Guzman.
Miami-Dade police say more than a thousand dollars worth of items were taken including cell phones, speakers, and tablets.
The surveillance tape, which has been made public, shows a white car pulling up to the store and one of the suspects lingers for a while before breaking in. He is seen putting a shirt over his head before throwing the rock.
"It's very scary. We are hoping with this video someone can recognize the vehicle and the person and try to help us out because it was a scary situation and inconvenient. Now I have to get the window fixed, I wouldn't want this to happen to any other business," said Guzman.
She said sadly this will take a terrible toll on a business struggling to survive.
"We're definitely an indirect retailer, not a big company. We like have a few stores. We are not a big company so this is really taking away from our profits. We are not a big company so it's very very sad someone will do this." said Guzman.
Miami-Dade Police told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench they have not released a detailed description of the suspects which is why Guzman hopes people will study the surveillance tape and call the police if they recognize the man who was captured on camera,
Anyone who recognizes the man in the video or who can help should call MIami-Dade Police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
