Thieves target Santa Clarita Papa John's stores multiple times in one week

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (KABC) -- Brian Kawasaki and his wife have owned their two Papa John's stores in Santa Clarita for just under two years. In the last six days, however, they've been targeted by robbers three times.

On Tuesday morning, thieves struck both stores in a span of 15 minutes.

"I get a call from the alarm company. I thought it was just a double call, and they said 'No, it's actually the other location,'" Kawasaki told Eyewitness News.

"It was clearly coordinated," he added.

The first theft happened last Wednesday at the pizza shop on Seco Canyon Road. Several thieves smashed the glass door, ransacked the store and took off with a small safe with very little cash inside.

There was another break-in at the same store Tuesday morning. The suspects shattered another glass door since the other door was still boarded up from the first robbery.

Minutes later, the thieves hit the couple's second Papa John's store on Lyons Avenue just a few miles away. They shattered the door and jumped the counter to look for cash before quickly fleeing.

Each robbery was captured on surveillance video.

"Like most small businesses, it's not big corporations, it's a couple who took their lifesavings and put it into a little shop and has some good team members who are a little spooked right now," Kawasaki said.

Kawasaki says investigators believe the same suspects are responsible for the two most recent crimes, but believe another crew was to blame for the first break-in.

He says the thieves caused thousands of dollars in damage compared to the few hundred they stole. He's hoping surveillance video can help find the suspects.