Two men broke into an abandoned Quizno’s, knocked out the
sheetrock into the next-door restaurant and then burrowed through
another wall into the neighboring AT
&
amp;T shop, where they stole nearly $50,000 worth of
Blackberries and iPhones.
Two men broke into an abandoned Quizno’s, knocked out the sheetrock into the next-door restaurant and then burrowed through another wall into the neighboring AT&T shop, where they stole nearly $50,000 worth of Blackberries and iPhones.
The alarm did not sound when the suspects broke into the old Quizno’s, 8687 San Ysidro Ave., about 1 a.m. Monday because the power was disconnected, according to police and Adria Giacomelli, an associate with Colliers International who said she has shown the vacant property twice without lights.
From inside the dark, abandoned former deli, the two suspects bored through sheetrock into the Ginger Cafe’s rest room on the other side, police said. After crawling through the bathroom and the rear of the Chinese restaurant undetected, the men worked their way through a second gate of sheetrock, into the unmonitored storage room of the AT&T store. After bagging up 83 phones worth an estimated $47,145, the men – wearing gloves and white bandanas over their faces – ran out through AT&T’s rear exit.
“Someone definitely had knowledge of the building’s layout, knowing exactly where to cut through those walls to get into certain locations,” Sgt. Jim Gillio said. He acknowledged it could have someone who worked at the Quizno’s, Ginger Cafe or AT&T, “or it could’ve been someone who just spent some time casing area.”
There were no signs of forced entry at the property, and police said the suspects did not leave any tools behind. Police are unsure how they busted through the walls and said the suspects gained initial entry through “unknown means.” They are also unsure how long the suspects were in the building, as they did not hear about the robbery until employees showed up at work the next morning.
Employees and managers at AT&T declined to comment, and the manager of the Ginger Cafe did not return calls, but the robbery was still news to a few employees at AT&T.
“What? We were robbed?” one employee asked his manager Tuesday.
Giacomelli has a key to the Quizno’s property to show it, but she said she has not left a lock box – which hangs on the door and into which a realtor can enter a code to receive a key – at the property.
“I think right now with the economy the way it is, that this is somewhat foreseeable,” Giacomelli said. “These are desperate times.”
Barring software gurus who have hacked the firmware, iPhones are limited to AT&T networks here in the states. However, a black market for “unlocked” – or hacked phones capable of working on other carriers’ networks – iPhones in China and other foreign markets is flourishing, according to local media reports. iPhones sell anywhere from $15 to $560 on eBay and Chinese customers can also get them in stores for $400 or $500.
According to police, one man was weating a white shirt, a black jacket, a gray beanie, blue jeans, blue and gray plumber’s gloves, and black and white Nike shoes. The other man wore a light blue hoody, a large white jacket, black gloves, black pants, and black and white basketball sneakers. The second man also carried a large plastic bag.
