Sacramento Sheriff: Robberies Up As Small Business Targeted
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Investigators with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department say robberies are on the rise and it seems many of these thieves are targeting businesses.
"Their luck's going to run out," said Sgt. Jason Ramos. "You're seeing robberies of places where people can get, perhaps, a couple of hundred dollars."
In the first two months of the year, the sheriff's robbery bureau says robberies are up 21 percent from this time last year, jumping from 151 to 183.
"We've seen a rash in takeover robberies in these businesses, where a group of people -- several of them armed -- go in very dynamic, very fast," said Ramos.
He says the spike could be caused by a group of robbers who repeat their crimes and get away with them, like the three masked men who could be connected to a string of takeover restaurant robberies.
The masked men order everyone to the ground and steal from workers, as well as the customers.
"It's going to cause a spike in the numbers in a short amount of time," said Ramos.
He says they may be seeing a spike because the thieves are targeting businesses where they only get away with a small amount of cash. So they keep coming back for more, and many times go in armed. They are crimes, Ramos says, where criminals can make quick cash, and it's happening across the country.
"There is no area that we can say is totally immune or safe from this type of crime," Ramos said.
So far this year, 13 percent of the robbery cases were closed. Investigators say the number is low because many of these robbers are still on the loose.
