Downtown Merced store burglarized twice Friday morning, according to store employee
A downtown store was burglarized twice by two different groups of suspects early on Friday morning in Merced, according to a store employee.
Four motorized scooters valued at approximately $8,000 combined were stolen after a suspect broke the glass on the front door of the Valley Healthcare Supply located at 359 West Main Street.
Both break-ins were caught on surveillance video, but the store alarm didn’t go off, according to Edith Basave, who works as an assistant manager at the store.
.The first burglary took place at 12:18 a.m. with two male suspects entering the store and stealing motorized scooters. The first suspect, who can be seen on the video wearing a dark hoodie and a face mask, smashed the glass on the door with a rock.
He then entered the store, stole a red scooter and exited the store quickly. The second suspect, who can be seen the on surveillance video wearing a light T-shirt and a face covering, entered the store and walked to the sales counter to steal a calculator. He then grabbed a blue motorized scooter on the way out.
The first two suspects were riding bikes and rode them away from the store, taking the two scooters.
The second burglary involved two different suspects at 5:05 a.m. A man wearing a black T-shirt that appears to be pulled over his head and black shorts can be seen on the surveillance video entering the store and stealing a scooter. The final suspect is female with blond hair, who enters the store and steal a three-wheeled scooter.
Basave said the police called at 5:30 a.m. to alert them that the store had been burglarized. A person walking downtown noticed the glass had been broken on the front door and called the police.
“I personally think this is really horrible,” Basave said. “We’re a place that helps this community a lot. We help people get medical equipment when they need it. We’re a small business and this hits us hard. This affects our business a lot.”
Anyone with information about the theft can contact the Merced Police Department’s automated tipline at 209-385-4725. Citizens can text a tip to TIP411 (847411) and use “comvip” as the first word in the message.
All tips are confidential, and you can remain anonymous.
