Burglars cut a hole through the roof of a Simi Valley Best Buy early Monday morning and stole an estimated $93,000 of Apple merchandise from the store, Simi Valley Police Officers said.
Police said the Best Buy, located at 1173 Simi Town Center Way, was burglarized at approximately 2:50 a.m. Police responded to the scene at approximately 7:13 a.m., and by then, the burglars were long gone, Simi Valley Police Department Commander Steve Shorts said.
The burglars are believed to have climbed down into the store by way of a 24-foot ladder. A caged area of the store warehouse, where various Apple products were contained, was cut open, police said. The burglars removed various items and exited through the same hole from which they came in.
"The burglars knew what they were doing. Why the security system didn't pick up their activities--that's a question for Best Buy Corporate," Shorts said.
Best Buy Corporate Security told Simi Valley Police that similar burglaries have occurred in other Southern California Best Buys within the last several months. Shorts said stores in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego County, and Palmdale were burglarized in a similar fashion, leading investigators to believe that the same burglars may be involved in all incidents.
Shorts said Simi Valley Police do not have video surveillance of the burglary at this time and cannot provide a description of the burglars. He said they are waiting for further details about the incident from Best Buy, adding that the ladder used in the burglary was discovered under a tractor-truck in the Best Buy parking lot.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant James Buckley at (805) 583-6960.
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Best Buy Media Relations was not immediately available for comment.
