LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A small business owner is speaking out after her spiritual shop was burglarized, then she told 8 News Now the thief tried to circle back and break in again.
“We’re trying to keep our head above water,” Debbie Veach said. “But it’s a pretty terrifying feeling.”
Veach told 8 News Now she is still reeling from the recent burglary at her store.
“The sense of loss, the violation,” she explained. “It’s so many different things, this isn’t just monetary.”
She said her shop, Enchanted Forest Reiki Center, located near Sahara Avenue and Jones Boulevard was broken into Wednesday night.
The thief was caught on surveillance camera before Veach told 8 News Now he stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
“They took priceless pieces,” she said. “They took some of the best pieces that I’ve been collecting the 13 years I’ve been in business.”
Expensive crystals were among several things stolen; she said they were handmade and one of a kind, which makes the situation tough financially and emotionally.
“The comments people make are, ‘Don’t you have insurance?’” she said. “Well of course I have insurance, but there is still a tremendous loss.”
What’s worse, she said the same man was seen on surveillance video trying to break in again the following night, but couldn’t make it inside.
“To sit there and think somebody could come back and do this to me again?” Veach said.
She has since filed reports with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and upgraded her camera system, but Veach told 8 News Now sharing her story is mainly about calling for change.
“This is about us all communicating with each other,” she said. “Small business owners going this is unacceptable.”
She said she also wants to make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else.
Veach said the thief used what appears to be a truck stolen from a nearby business to commit the burglary.
She told 8 News Now both the break-in and attempted break-in happened around 4:00 a.m.
Anyone with any information should contact LVMPD at 702-828-3111 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 to remain anonymous.