Thieves target beauty school employee on the autism spectrum in West Covina, steal $400 in merch
WEST COVINA, Calif. (KABC) -- A camera caught two people pulling a robbery scam at a local beauty school, and the owner believes the thieves specifically targeted the employee.
Emily Estrada, 22, loves all things beauty. What started with her taking classes at Infinite Glow Academy turned into her being a full-time employee of the company for the last two years. Estrada was even honored as Employee of the Month a few weeks ago.
In a video posted to social media, Estrada shares that she is on the autism spectrum and wears a pin while at work asking customers to be patient with her. Unfortunately, the store owner says she believes this made Estrada a target.
"They came in, they waited for her to be alone, when other customers left the store, and they waited around on the side as the surveillance shows, and they basically tricked her into putting a fake gift card on the system," said Montserrat Espejel, owner of Infinite Glow Academy.
Surveillance video shows the two women reaching over the counter and tapping a confused Estrada's screen. Espejel said the two women walked out with over $400 worth of merchandise.
"When she told me everything like that night, I was having a little panic attack. I was worried because I thought I was going to lose my job. Once that happened, I was having trouble sleeping," Estrada said.
"It's not really the loss or the value of the items. What it is, it's what they did to Emily," said Espejel. "It's so disheartening that people out there could come and, you know, abuse her confidence and her trust."
Her mom said that while Estrada will learn from this incident, she also hopes that by sharing this story, others can learn as well.
"Society is so ugly these days. And, right now, I think that we should be focused on being kind to one another," said Nora Zelaya, Estrada's mother.
Espejel said she filed a police report and that the West Covina Police Department is actively investigating the theft.
