SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The owner of a designer eyewear shop in San Francisco is pleading for justice after his store continues to be robbed. The latest incident happened Tuesday, and it’s all caught on video.
The owner of Veo Optics in the Marina has been robbed six times in six months, causing an estimated loss of $200,000, so he is understandably devastated. On Tuesday, two people stole an estimated $40,000 worth of designer eyeglasses.
“It’s been an emotional day,” said Ryan Restua, the owner of the store. “We are just local business owners, just trying to serve our community, feed our families and take care of our loved ones.”
This location has been open for ten years on the corner of Union and Octavia Streets.
“I saved up working two jobs just to be a part of this amazing organization that I truly believe in,” Restua said.
Surveillance video of Tuesday’s incident shows two people hopping over the half-open Dutch door. At first, the two looked like they were shopping.
“And then they went to work,” Restua describes. “Started grabbing frames… they are targeting bigger brands, Chanel, that’s what’s bringing them in. Took the frames, hopped out and that was it.”
After Restua called police, Veo closed for the day. He says he has to figure out how they are going to restock their empty shelves.
KRON4 covered a robbery at Veo’s Mission location last June when an employee was pepper-sprayed by thieves.
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“Fortunately, in that last incident when we were on the news, that did lead to the capture of one of the individuals,” Restua said. “We are grateful for that and we are hoping the same thing will happen here.”
Restua hopes the public can help identify the people in this video, and when they are caught, he plans to call on local leaders to hold them accountable.
“Our local law enforcement are doing what they can and I understand this,” he said. “We need help from our political leaders. Any help from the community that leads to the capture of these criminals who continue to take, take, take. There is no justice that is being served for these people.”
The owner says he is going to make additional changes to security measures. He says while it would be easy to give up and close his shop, he plans to stay open.