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$30,000 in sunglasses stolen from Napa business
Thursday, December 04, 2008
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Buyers beware.

The Eye Care Center of Napa was hammered with a staggering loss after the store on Trancas Street and Villa Lane was broken into early Sunday morning.
Thieves made off with $30,000 worth of Gucci, Coach, Maui Jim, Oakley and other stylish brands of shades, according to store spokesman John Pecora.

The burglars smashed the front plate-glass doors, cut through a plastic barrier, entered and then used a tool to pry the door out, Pecora said. “The alarm went off, but they were in and out before the cops got here within five minutes.”
This is not the first time Eye Care Center has been targeted.

On Aug. 3, a window was shattered, allowing the thieves access to the store. “They took nothing but  designer sunglasses,” Pecora said. “Our store in American Canyon was burglarized on Sept. 7, and we have had two shoplifting incidents there — same thing, designer sunglasses. We are getting pretty fed up with this.”
Pecora said the stores are equipped with surveillance cameras. But so far, they have not been able to get a good description of the culprits.

Napa Police Cmdr. Andy Lewis said the sunglasses are “an attractive target for thieves. They are small, making it easy to take a lot of glasses at one time, and they are expensive. They are most likely being sold at flea markets, on the street and even online for around $300.”
23 comment(s)

amelia wrote on Dec 3, 2008 3:23 PM:

" check ebay "

Dirty Napkin wrote on Dec 3, 2008 3:37 PM:

" LOL @ fed up.. OOOOH now they are shaking in their boots.. PPPLLLEASE

E bay & craigslist. And, the fact that the police are slow is nothing new. Get bullet proof glass. Also, why are we hearing about it 2 days later.?/?/? "

wowquebonita wrote on Dec 3, 2008 3:48 PM:

" 30k sounds excessive. How many pairs were taken? Coach sunglasses are cheap usually made in China. Gucci, Versace, and DIOR are made in Italy...rarely France. I wonder how much effort Napa PD will put into resolving this matter? Napa PD sure as hell didn't do anything to help us when our house was burglarized. "

lucylutoo wrote on Dec 3, 2008 3:56 PM:

" I agree with you Dirty Napkin! Why 2 days later? I could have bought a pair pretty cheap had I known 2 days ago! No, all kidding aside, two days, is two days late! Thieves no doubt sold the majority of them by now to unsuspecting, and suspecting, buyers. "

Annabella wrote on Dec 3, 2008 4:16 PM:

" Beautiful bucolic Napa? All I ever read about here is crime, crime and more crime. ..plus DWI reports. "

Annabella wrote on Dec 3, 2008 4:21 PM:

" Yes, I agreed. 30K does sound excessive. Are there 30K residents? How many tourists are gonna walk into that Eye Care Clinic to buy designer glasses? Times are tough and all sorts of things happen including people needing revenue (ins) say they happen.
Good luck with that. Insurance companies are not that stupid. "

valligirl wrote on Dec 3, 2008 5:24 PM:

" Oh big deal - I'm sure they have insurance. "

common sense wrote on Dec 3, 2008 5:59 PM:

" Crime is through the roof these days. It's probably the single best indicator of a bad economy. Better lock and load...the thieves love Napa for all of its money, and the cops are still too slow to respond. "

localmama wrote on Dec 3, 2008 6:15 PM:

" Perhaps they couldn't get any of the bail out relief money............. "

jmo wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:23 PM:

" I think within five minutes is reasonable for a police response time to an early morning commercial burglary. Early morning...exactly what time did the call come in?
$30,000\$300 = 100 sets of glasses. Cameras should have caught the whole thing. "

justnana wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:27 PM:

" Wow...the third burglary of their two locations! I saw a huge iron safe, maybe for guns, I don't know, for sale at Costco...wasn't too expensive. I bet it would fit a whole lot of designer sunglasses in the event that someone wanted to safeguard their inventory overnight or a weekend. Might make it a little tougher for someone to get in and out before the PD can intervene...just a thought. "

109823 wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:01 PM:

" Sounds like a new booth at the flea market will be opening. "

mamyt wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:19 PM:

" So you mean the goods they sell at the flea market are not necessarily knock offs. interesting "

strate8 wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:24 PM:

" hahahahaha Try another business. They charged too much anyway. I've been there. "

wipemedown wrote on Dec 3, 2008 10:38 PM:

" Aw what i just saw a cruiser with both beat cops wearing gucci glasses. Go figure. They pulled me over for expired tags. It was profiling though, i had on some Versace. "

Napa wrote on Dec 3, 2008 11:37 PM:

" They need to hire a full time night security officer to watch the eye care center via the parking lot. "

fmmt47 wrote on Dec 4, 2008 6:18 AM:

" The same type of burglary recently occurred in Sonoma County..probably the same people pulled it off. They were so stupid that they took thousands of dollars worth of expensive glasses but left a pair of John Lennon's original glasses...hope these thieves get caught soon! Check the local flea market in American Canyon this weekend... "

y2kcbr wrote on Dec 4, 2008 8:21 AM:

" Futures Bright...

I gotta wear shades "

108923 wrote on Dec 4, 2008 12:49 PM:

" I guess I better head out to the Flea Market before all the nice sun glasses are gone. "

over55 wrote on Dec 4, 2008 4:25 PM:

" valligirl wrote on Dec 3, 2008 5:24 PM:

" Oh big deal - I'm sure they have insurance. "
Valligirl, it is a big deal if our insurance rates and the cost of items goes up because of theft. "

MyWrites wrote on Dec 4, 2008 8:58 PM:

" Sounds as if they need to install security cameras inside and out especially if they have been hit before - get a clue! "

shgirl wrote on Dec 4, 2008 9:07 PM:

" you guys are all funny. thanks for the laugh this evening. "

injoy wrote on Dec 4, 2008 11:25 PM:

" Im surprised they didn't take the BOTOX...or maybe they did...we might not be getting the full story. "

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