Pleasant Grove store owner believes attempted break-in is connected to recent burglaries
DALLAS - Dallas police are looking for suspects who tried to make off with some cash at a market in Dallas' Pleasant Grove neighborhood earlier this month.
The intruders tried to break into the Encanto Market & Cocina back on July 8.
Co-owner Cristina Hernandez says she was out of town when the alarm company called to report the attempted break-in.
"The crowbar actually broke because of this metal. It actually broke, and the pieces were there," said Hernandez. "I guess once they heard the alarm go off they took off."
Security cameras captured part of the late-night attempt.
A black Nissan Titan pulled into the driveway.
At least one person, dressed in all black with a face mask on walked up to the front door.
Shortly after, the video feed drops.
"He knows exactly where he's going. He's going directly to the electrical box that's on the side of the building and cuts the electricity," said Hernandez.
Hernandez reported the incident and shared the video with Dallas police.
She didn't think much more about it until last Thursday, when she saw a similar story on FOX 4 News.
Masked burglars target Hispanic-owned North Texas businesses
Surveillance video from a Grand Prairie clearly shows the three men in hoods as they stole tens of thousands of dollars. A Dallas restaurant was also recently burglarized and caught them on camera. The burglars seen in both videos have striking similarities.
One of the businesses, Ceviche Loco, was located a short drive from Hernandez's store.
In both of those cases, the men were dressed in black with their faces covered. A black Nissan Titan was used as the getaway car in the Ceviche Loco case.
"We were like, yes it was them," said Hernandez.
She expressed that sentiment to the Dallas police detective assigned to her case.
Since the attempted break-in, Hernandez says the security cameras are no longer tied into the electrical system.
She wants other businesses to be aware.
"I was thinking maybe we were their first target," Hernandez said. "It's sad and it's terrifying because you don't know whose looking."
FOX 4 has reached out Dallas police to see if they believe the cases are related.