SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A Sorrento Valley eyeglasses store was burglarized early Friday morning, becoming the latest optical business in San Diego County to be victimized by thieves in the past few weeks.
San Diego police were called to a strip mall in the 10000 block of Pacific Heights Boulevard shortly after 3 a.m. in response to a break-in at Designer Eyes Optometry.
When officers arrived, they found shattered glass from the store’s front door and several glasses strewn on the ground inside. Police said about $20,000 worth of eyewear was taken.
A surveillance camera inside the store captured four men wearing masks and hooded sweatshirts squeezing through the smashed door and grabbing glasses from display cases.
Police said the burglars were in and out of the store within three minutes.
A witness told 10News he was at a next-door business when he heard the sound of glass breaking. He said he spotted at least three masked men leaving Designer Eyes and loading merchandise into a gray-colored vehicle similar to a Dodge Charger.
Police said Designer Eyes Optometry was victimized by burglars on July 24, and they believe the thieves in Friday's break-in are responsible for that previous incident. According to police, at least one of the burglars was seen on surveillance footage from both cases.
The Sorrento Valley break-in comes after a recent string of similar crimes targeting optometry businesses in the county.
Last week, an optometry office in Escondido and another in La Mesa were burglarized within about an hour of each other.
In July, a Chula Vista optometry business was broken into in an incident captured on surveillance video.
There is no word on if any of the break-ins are related.
