SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Businesses at a Grantville strip mall were picking up the pieces Tuesday after thieves targeted a Gold Exchange shop on the property.
According to the owner of San Diego Gold Exchange, this is the second time in nine months his business has been burglarized.
This time it looks like the criminals used a sledgehammer to try and get inside.
Police were called to the business located near the 5800 block of Mission Gorge Road around 5:15 a.m.
Officers used a K-9 to make sure there weren’t any suspects still inside. They found several large holes punched in the back of the strip mall.
"I got a call from one of the tenants, she got a hole in the back [of her business]," said property owner Mark Sun. "I came down here found out the Gold Exchange was the one they were targeting."
In an attempt to get to it, Sun said the thieves punched holes in the two neighboring businesses. One is an alterations shop, the other is a digital print shop. Nothing was taken at either business.
"It’s definitely annoying," said Sun. "Poking holes means you got to find someone to patch it, there's a mess inside."
Since the first break-in, the owner of San Diego Gold Exchange said he added more security.
There are several surveillance cameras inside the shop. He told CBS 8 in both incidents the thieves wore masks.
In this latest incident, they didn't just damage walls on the outside of the property, they also punched several holes in the walls within his business.
He said despite the mess left behind, the thieves didn't end up stealing anything.