Surveillance cameras captured the burglar in the act.
Haz clic aquí para leer esto en español
The first two weeks of November were a rough stretch for Mexican restaurant owners in the Calallen area of Corpus Christi, Texas, as four Mexican restaurants were burglarized. La Cabana, La Tropicana, Taqueria Guadalajara, and El Olvido Haciendo were all hit during that span.
Police have identified a suspect in the string of crimes, but as of early December, no arrests had been made.
“We’re trying to get him,” said Senior Officer Jennifer Collier in the department’s media relations office. Collier added that she’s not aware of any other burglaries of Mexican restaurants since those four.
Elsa Garcia Zaragoza of Hacienda El Ovido said someone broke into her restaurant on November 15 and stole two cash registers, cash, and important documents. The person also broke a window and glass door.
“Because we live in such an amazing place where everyone knows each other and looks out for each other, you don’t expect this to happen,” Zaragoza says.
A similar string of burglaries happened four years ago, Zaragoza says. She says that in those burglaries, the perpetrator left few signs of his presence, whereas this time he left a mess and everything was caught on camera.
“In terms of security we thought we were well prepared, considering it happened four years ago,” she says. “He cut some cables that were connected to the alarm system, [but] the cameras and the wifi were fine, which was able to catch everything.”
Even though police have identified and are pursuing the suspect, Zaragoza says the situation has left her unsettled.
“More than anything it leaves you with fear, fear to open the doors in the morning, thinking it’s going to happen again,” she says. “It’s not a very pleasing feeling it leaves you.”
Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to el Restaurante's digital publications for free by clicking here.