A liquor store owner who was held at gunpoint for more than two hours by thieves at his home believes he was targeted by the same robbers before.
He told NBC4 he thinks the gunmen who robbed him late Thursday may have tried to break into his property in unincorporated Torrance on two previous occasions. They knew both his name, and about his business.
The owner, who was too afraid to speak on camera, said he did not go directly home after locking up his store in Hawthorne Thursday, and instead went to the Hustler Casino in Gardena. He thinks he was followed from there back to his gated community home.
Four gunmen, who wore gloves, ski masks and dark clothes, broke into his house on the 1000 block of Park Circle Drive. They tied the shop owner and his wife up, then stole $2,000 in cash as well as jewelry.
While one robber stayed behind holding a gun to his head, the others broke into his store and stole tens of thousands of dollars. They even called the victim at his house and demanded to know where the safe was located. The family finally reported what had happened to police at 2:50 a.m. Friday.
The owner's house and his store are well equipped with surveillance cameras, however the thieves disabled the cameras and took all the surveillance equipment.
Just hours after the incident he was back working at his shop, Mel and Leo's Liquor. Sympathetic customers said he had gone to great lengths to protect the business.
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"They finally put barriers and bullet-proof glass and stuff like that," longtime customer Joseph Osborn said, "I was really praying that, hopefully, they were okay, him and his family. They're just phenomenal people, great people."
Hawthorne Police Department are working with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators to catch the criminals.
