VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — A Vista bike shop owner is fed up after his shop was broken into for the third time in six months.
Early Sunday morning, Jesse McCormack got a call from his security company. The person on the phone notified him that thieves had gotten into his shop, 211 Bikes, again.
“I woke up in an immediate panic,” McCormack said.
This month, he was supposed to be celebrating his one year anniversary at the location. Instead, he is filing yet another police report.
The surveillance video shows a man wearing a hoodie and shorts ransacking the shop, snipping cable locks, and running out.
The man captured on the security video took a 2017 MASI Volare worth $1,199, a MASI Vivo Uno worth $1,999, a Haro Shredder 12" worth $180, a rack of sunglasses worth $1,000, and several important files.
The first time 211 Bikes was the target of a crime was last October, just six months after opening. No one was arrested for the crime.
“It was a wake-up call,” McCormack recalled.
The second break-in was on December 10, 2017. Five rare road bikes, along with other equipment, were stolen.
“There’s some nights that I don’t really want to go home,” McCormack sighed. “I just feel like I need to stay the night here, and just keep an eye on things.”
In the last six months, McCormack has lost at least $80,000.
He and his landlord have put up new security cameras, LED lights, locked up the bikes, even changed the dead bolts.
When one of the stolen bikes was listed on online sale app, he even worked with detectives to arrest the seller. But the thefts continued.
McCormack recently got a call from another bike shop owner. They sent McCormack a photo of a man, riding a rare and expensive road bike in San Marcos —The exact one that was stolen from his shop in December.
He immediately noticed that the leg tattoo on this rider was very similar, if not a match, to the tattoos on the man captured on Sunday morning’s surveillance video.
“He matches the description I have of the prior incident,” McCormack said.
This could be a break, he said, hoping that somebody recognizes the man, and turns him into the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
“Action needs to be taken,” McCormack said. “We need to have the ability to feel safe, in order to conduct business, especially as a small and vulnerable business owner, who is operating on a shoe string budget."
McCormack is now working with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, asking for increased patrols in the area.
He thought about changing locations. But because the area is surrounded by great bike trails, and he services so many local loyal customers, he said moving is not an option.
