Shop Owner Single-Handedly Rips Homeless Encampment to Pieces After Bums Rob Him Blind Over Thanksgiving
A California business owner took matters into his own hands after thieves ransacked his arcade store during the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the New York Post.
Will Luna, the owner of “Extraordinaire Arcade” in San Bernardino, had just closed his shop the day before Thanksgiving when a woman hiding in the store’s attic made her move. She let 18 others inside, where they spent two nights plundering the place.
The thieves wreaked havoc, stealing everything in sight, including a large arcade game.
“There was an X-Men 4-player that was right there,” Luna told KTTV in Los Angeles. “They took a full-sized game right out the door. I have pictures and video of them dragging it out.”
Luna discovered the break-in on Friday morning and estimated the damage at $12,000. But the criminals didn’t stop there.
They climbed back into the attic and broke into the neighboring salon.
“They dropped down, but I have double locks on each door,” explained Teri Sandoval, owner of Salon Metro. “So, they were like caged animals. They couldn’t get back out once they got in, and I can speak through my security system. So, I [was] screaming at them, ‘The cops are on the way, you better get the heck out of here!’”
The thieves managed to escape before authorities arrived, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Luna and Sandoval believed the perpetrators were from a nearby homeless encampment.
“I say [they were] homeless because we have them on surveillance camera, and I recognize some of them,” Luna said. “I’m not going to just accuse anybody. We saw them.”
As police investigated, a homeless individual tipped Luna off, claiming the stolen goods were in a local camp. However, when Luna asked for help recovering his items, police informed him that they couldn’t intervene.
“I said, ‘Why can’t you guys just move this s*** and go in there?’ They said, ‘We can’t.’ It violated homeless rights,” Luna recalled to the New York Post. “I said, ‘I don’t give a f*** about how many rights they have. These people have my stuff.’”
With no other options, Luna took action himself.
“I just went through all their tents. I started knocking that s*** down,” he said. “I was ripping all the tents up. And I start finding my stuff.”
Luna tore through one encampment and then moved to another across the street, recovering various gaming accessories, parts, and snacks. However, his most valuable items — including multiple PlayStation 5 consoles and the X-Men arcade cabinet — remained missing.
The saga didn’t end there. Shortly after Luna’s raid on the camps, his arcade was set on fire.
“They’re f***ing with us hard now,” Luna said.