A local Mediterranean cafe was left in shambles after being burglarized late last week.
Maral Sabounjian of Man’oushee Mediterranean Bakery & Cafe received a call from their security team early Thursday morning with the news that the cafe was broken into. Man’oushee is located at 27131 Sierra Highway.
“Around 5:48 (in the morning) the security company called me and they asked if they want me to send someone, I was really confused it was almost daylight,” said Sabounjian. “Around 6:30 the police called back and said there was a break-in. Me and my son drove over and we saw the window and what they had done inside. They thought something was in the office.”
Security footage that Sabounjian posted online shows one man breaking down the front window after several attempts. He crawls through the hole keeping low as he makes his way into the back of the cafe. Shortly after the alarm begins to chirp as a second man crawls into the cafe.
Both men would make their way to the back of the kitchen to a locked office door. After several attempted kicks, they break down the door and disappear inside the office. A minute later both men appear and leave back the way they came, through the small hole made in the front window.
Both men seen in the video are wearing hoodies and gloves and covering their faces. One man can be heard on the audio of the tape calling back to his partner.
“The whole thing took about a minute and a half,” Sabounjian explained. “Nothing was taken. There were three tablets in the restaurant and they didn’t take them.”
Since 2016 Man’oushee has been broken into four times, according to Sabounjian.
“My first thought was, I have had enough, I can’t do this anymore. I was just thinking get out of there, but that was just a thought. It’s hard.” Sabounjian exclaimed. “Why don’t we have enough security. The police came after 30 minutes. They told me ‘they don’t think we are gonna catch these guys.”
That statement may have been made inaccurately out of haste, due to a lack of immediate evidence, according to Sgt. Tim Vander Leek with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s station.
“ We investigate and we get more information and tie things together, we never say never,” Vander Leek explained. “It’s possibly related (to another burglary).”
Down the street from Man’oushee, a Domino’s pizza was broken into 15 minutes after the bakery’s alarm was triggered.
“Domino’s was a window smash and a cash register was taken,” Vander Leek detailed. “(Cases) like this, it’s usually a group. Though we are still piecing it together.”
