Santa Clarita community rallies behind burglarized donut shop

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Santa Clarita neighborhood is rallying behind Stevenson Donuts & Bakery after the shop was burglarized Sunday night.

Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives say the thief cut a hole into the bakery from a vacant building next door, and surveillance video shows him crawling on the floor of the business. A second camera shows the suspect grabbing the register.

"We lost all the money and change we have," said owner Thoung Sauv.

Sauv has since boarded up the hole in the wall and believes the thief clearly knew where to avoid his surveillance cameras.

"It's just scary. We cannot sleep at night because we feel like he followed us and knows what time we've been here," said Sauv.

The owners showed us the vacant business next door, and it was clear the suspect tried cutting one hole into the bakery, but Sauv says he hit a cabinet and could not get through. The suspect then tried cutting into a different location and made entry.

"The suspect had some kind of tools because cutting into drywall is not easy," says Lt. Ignacio Somoano with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department stationed in Santa Clarita. "He had to cut through one round of drywall, pull out the insulation, and then cut through another round of drywall to get access to the business. I'm sure the suspect would have had a lot of drywall residue on his clothing, so anyone that may have seen anything like that on Sunday evening is urged to call the sheriff's department."

What is clear is how much Sauv and his wife's customers love them and their bakery. Since Sunday, the public has been pouring in to help the couple, buying every donut up for grabs, while also leaving donations and tips. Someone also launched a GoFundMe page, raising more than $4,000.

"The owners of the bakery know everybody's names who walk in there," says customer Juliann Brown. "It's like a little 'Cheers' location for the community."

"Say you need a dozen muffins or donuts early in the morning," adds Marilee Christofferson, who's been coming here for more than six years. "If you text them at night, they will have it ready for you. They'll come in early if they need to."

The Sauvs say they love their customers, appreciate their support and plan on using the money donated to somehow track down this burglar.