FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A brazen break-in at a shoe store in Fresno, California, was all for nothing after the owner was already a step ahead of the would-be thieves, he said.
Locally owned DripOnDrip was boarded up Monday after what was described as a “shocking” break-in earlier in the morning.
“Seeing the building that you’re working out of almost every day … just be damaged. It’s shocking,” said Roman Gonzales, the owner of the shop.
Security camera footage from outside of DripOnDrip on Monday morning shows two sedans driving up to the front of the shop just after 3 a.m. One of them rammed through the front of the store.
Several people are then seen getting out of both cars and running inside. But they soon become confused and leave the store around 30 seconds later.
“If they would have looked through the window, they would have saved themselves some time and energy from even trying to break in,” said Gonzales. “They would have noticed that there is nothing here on the floor for them to take.”
Gonzales got the idea to remove visible merchandise — nightly — after thieves broke into his former location last year, taking most of his inventory. He now clears the floor every night and leaves the cash register open, right next to the window, to show that there’s no cash inside.
The only thing he leaves out at night is a wall of right-foot shoes.
“There’s no value once you take this shoe. I mean, you can’t just buy a left-foot shoe online either. So you’re not going to be able to use that item or even resell it. It’s just pointless,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said the robbery suspects ended up taking some loose backpacks and a couple of right-foot shoes as well as a few other pairs he had planned to donate to local teens. But he believes the suspects would have taken much more if he hadn’t thought ahead.
A spokesperson for River Park, a shopping area in Fresno, told Nexstar’s KSEE/KGPE that they and Gonzales have met to discuss future safety measures. River Park will increase their overnight security staff, they said, while Gonzales mentioned that there are considerations to install traffic safety poles in front of his store to prevent cars from driving on the sidewalk.
Gonzales added that River Park’s security officers and their quick response to Monday’s burglary attempt gave him some confidence to continue operating his business there.
He plans to open his shop as normal for the rest of the week.
“Let’s hope they get caught and learn from this situation,” Gonzales said of the suspects.