Thieves target San Fernando Valley liquor stores in destructive ATM thefts

Police are investigating a series of destructive ATM thefts targeting businesses in the San Fernando Valley.

The incidents were captured on surveillance cameras and involved thieves smashing their way in and forcibly removing the ATMs from the shops.

On Sept. 26, SDV Liquor Market in Sunland was targeted by two suspects at around 3:45 a.m.

They rammed their pickup truck through the glass front doors before ransacking the shop and escaping with around $30,000 worth of liquor.

Amal Mashhour, owner of SDV Liquor, said he was heartbroken and in shock when he learned his store was burglarized.

“I knew this was coming,” he told KTLA’s Angeli Kakade. “I just didn’t know when. There was glass everywhere. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t do anything. I thought I was paralyzed.”

While he is grateful no one was hurt, he’s worried the suspects will target him and other nearby businesses again.

A day earlier on Sept. 25, three suspects burglarized a liquor store on the 13500 block of Eldridge Avenue in Sylmar.

Security cameras captured the thieves tying a chain around the store’s metal gate to an SUV’s tow hitch. A driver slams on the gas and rips the gate and entry doors off its hinges while destroying some of the surrounding brick wall.

The male suspects dragged out a large ATM, stowed it in the white SUV’s trunk and sped away.

On Sept. 24, an ATM was stolen from a liquor store on the 12600 block of San Fernando Road in Sylmar by three suspects in a white SUV using the same chain pull method to break in. They escaped with an ATM as well.

On Sept. 28, El Rancho Plaza Market & Liquor in Sylmar was hit by thieves who arrived in a pickup truck. They attempted to break in and steal the ATM but the alarm was triggered instead.

Scared, they quickly drove off and were later spotted by witnesses leading police on a pursuit. Video of the chase shows sparks coming from a large metal chain that was dangling outside of the truck.

The suspects eventually crashed the truck and fled the area on foot.

“It’s getting scary knowing somebody is calling you saying, ‘Hey, watch out. Your story might be attacked,” said Joe T., owner of El Rancho Plaza Market & Liquor. “I’ve been predicting this. I’ve been staying up. This whole week, I’ve maybe had seven or eight hours of sleep. That worry, that sense of, ‘Oh, I might get robbed today,’ it’s getting to a point where I might just have to sleep inside my business.”

No suspects have been arrested as the incidents remain under investigation.

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