Three stores located on Bouquet Canyon in Saugus were broken into within minutes in the early morning hours of Thursday.
Tea Elle C Garden Cafe, Numero Uno and another business were all broken into at approximately 4:20 a.m., according to owners of the businesses and Natalie Arriaga, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Maria, the owner of Tea Elle C Garden Cafe who spoke to The Signal on the condition that we withhold her last name, said her shop was hit first.
The suspected burglars allegedly took approximately $150 from the register, breaking the windows and causing further property damage in the process, according to Maria, who said security camera footage was taken of the incident.
Minutes later, security camera footage provided by Daniel Lavalle, owner of Numero Uno, showed two men wearing black jackets and brandishing a crowbar rummaging through the cash register, which was empty, and items around it.
According to Arriaga and Lavelle, no windows were broken as a means of entry.
Lavalle said the store has been hit before, but usually burglars take alcohol or other items if they can’t find anything. He mentioned there were rolls of coins and a wallet with cash, left behind by a customer days earlier, the suspected burglars ignored.
“These guys were different,” said Lavelle.
The next store reportedly hit was reportedly the nearby iHOP located at 2611 Bouquet Canyon Road, according to Maria and Lavalle. However, the owners of the iHOP have not responded to requests to confirm this at the time of this publication.
The front counter of the establishment had been ransacked, according to Arriaga, but nothing was taken.
“Deputies also investigated reports of a theft at 26111 Bouquet Canyon Road. At approximately 7 a.m., an employee arrived to the location and noticed the front counter had been ransacked,” stated Arriaga in an email. “Per surveillance footage, at approximately 4 a.m., two male Black adults were seen entering the location and ransacking the business. Nothing was taken.”
All three businesses first reported their break-ins between 7 and 8:30 a.m. the same morning.
The suspects remain outstanding at this time, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station at 661-260-4000. Anonymous tips can be submitted to LA Crime Stoppers at www.LACrimeStoppers.org, or by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477).