ALPINE, Calif. (KGTV) - Video shows thieves smashing their way into an East County VFW post, before making off thousands of dollars in cash, along with an ATM.
“It was gut-wrenching,” said John Sullivan, Commander of the VFW post in Alpine.
He’s seen the surveillance video countless times.
“It hurts every time,” said Sullivan.
The video shows the VFW building's pool room and front window on Monday morning, just before 5 a.m. You can't see it, but the glass has already been shattered.
In the video, two masked men in hooded jackets climb in. One of them has a sledgehammer and an electric saw. They zero in on the cash register, which was empty.
“They pried it open, and did about $450 worth of damage to the drawer,” said Sullivan.
Next up: the dropbox behind the bar. Sullivan believes they used the saw to cut through the lock, making off with nearly $2,000 in proceeds and donations.
“It's a lot of money when we're trying to do a lot of things for veterans in the holiday season,” said Sullivan.
Even with that score, the thieves weren't done yet. Sullivan says the thieves then grabbed the ATM, feet from the pool room entrance, and threw it down the stairs.
Soon after, the video shows the ATM, now below the shattered window. The two thieves lift it up and out the window, and into a waiting car.
“Huge hit to the guy that somebody would come into a veteran organization and do this to us,” said Sullivan.
The thief didn’t touch several jars of donations meant for a veteran battling cancer.
“Maybe it’s a thief with a heart, if there is such a thing,” said Sullivan.
It appears Sullivan's post isn't the only one being targeted. About an hour before the break-in, the VFW post in Poway was broken into.
According to deputies, the suspects smashed the front door and appeared to ransack the bar area, and stole an undisclosed amount of money. Investigators say the cases are ‘similar’ and may be linked.
The Ramona VFW was burglarized in December 2021 and again in September 2022. Deputies say “in both incidents, two subjects forced entry and were in and out in a few minutes.”
Deputies say it's unclear if the Ramona cases are linked to the others.
“The act of targeting veterans is one of the lowest things you can do,” said Sullivan.
Back in Alpine, the burglary shut down the VFW post for a few days, before it reopened. Sullivan hopes the surveillance video will help track down the thieves.
“It felt like an attack on veterans. This is supposed to be our safe haven,” said Sullivan.
Anyone with information on the recent VFW break-ins is asked to email Detective Troy Udvarhelyi at Troy.Udvarhelyi@sdsheriff.org. Anyone with information on the Ramona cases is asked to email Detective Kyle Babcock at Kyle.Babcock@sdsheriff.org.
