MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are investigating after surveillance cameras captured a crook stealing from a cupcake shop in Miramar.
The video shows a man snooping behind a counter at SweetGem Cupcakes, located in the area of Palm Avenue and Southwest 21st Street.
It all happened on Saturday evening, just after store owner Jessica Castro closed up for the day.
“‘The alarm has gone off, are you there?’ and I said ‘No,’ and I right away looked at my cellphone, and I could see video of someone in here,” Castro said.
She said the crook took around $200 cash, drilled through a lock and stole tablets used for delivery services such as Postmates and UberEats.
Her losses are estimated to range from $600 to $800.
“I work very hard every day,” Castro told 7News while holding back tears. “I’m here 12 to 13 hours a day, sometimes alone. It’s scary now to think that someone can just come in while I’m working by myself or with my kids. He broke the lock. I had the alarm, I had cameras, but what if I’m inside, and he comes back or anybody could do it? It’s horrible. It sets me back a lot.”
She believes the suspect was at the shop at an earlier time in the day.
Castro said, “He walked in and just looked in and said, ‘Oh, hi. Just wanted to see what you sold here,’ and he looked very suspicious, so I just said ‘Hi, I sell cupcakes,’ and he said ‘Yeah, I see that. Can I have a card?'”
After she gave the man her card, she said he looked around the shop one last time before he left.
On Monday, Ralph Mendez, a good Samaritan, helped to at least replace the store’s missing money: $200 in cash.
“It’s great to help people out,” Mendez said. “The one thing I know is if we don’t help one another out, who is going to help one another?”
“I’m very thankful,” Castro said. “I didn’t expect this.”
Castro said that the burglary has her on edge.
“Now, I don’t want to be here after 6, after it gets dark,” she said.
If you have any information on this burglary, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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