Burglars slam pickup truck into Sunland liquor store, make off with top-shelf bottles, video shows

SUNLAND, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Surveillance video shows a pair of burglars slamming a pickup truck into a San Fernando Valley liquor store before stealing several bottles of top-shelf liquor, police said.

The dramatic break-in occurred about shortly before 4 a.m. Thursday at Liquor Market on Foothill Boulevard, near Oro Vista Avenue, according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson.

Footage recorded by a camera mounted inside the small business shows the truck backing into the store's entrance. Two people in hooded sweatshirts and masks then enter store and begin removing several limited edition, high-value bottles from the shelves.

The total value of the stolen merchandise was said to be about $30,000.

Store owner Amal Mashhour said his insurance won't cover anything.

"They say there's fire hazards and they say because there's a lot of theft around here, so you can't get insurance," he said.

Mashhour said the suspects were in and out of the store in a manner of minutes. The suspects fled and remained at large.

Thursday's burglary came after another liquor store on Elridge Avenue in Sylmar was broken into early Wednesday morning.

Surveillance footage captured the thieves using a metal chain attached to an SUV to pull off the gate. They then used a metal took similar to a crow bar to break open the door.

The thieves stole an ATM. The store owner said it will cost around $25,000 to fix the damages.

"We work hard to make money and maintain our small business, and these people, they come violate us and... there's no consequences anymore," said store owner Frank Hanna.