BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The owner of Trend Up on Allen Street is looking for your help to track down the people who broke in and stole half of his items.
Giovanni Centurione says it was the crack of dawn on June 28th when two thieves stole $16,000 worth of his exclusive items.
“I woke up to my window not being there and I looked at the camera and it happened that two young guys happened to break in the window,” he says. “Came in separately and set themselves to how much they can carry.”
Centurione tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person he didn't see them leaving in a car.
Rather, they were on foot.
“Everything from sneakers and clothes,” he expresses. “They destroyed our backroom and took merchandise that wasn’t even out yet.”
Centurione has since upgraded his security to steel bars on the door and he will be installing more for his windows.
“And a few days before this incident I was thinking that we should get bars on the door,” the owner says. “And I wake up one morning and there’s no window on the door. We were hit.”
He even has a security system where the alarm will set off if someone tries to swipe an item off of the shelves.
This incident left him traumatized to the point he was going to close down his store.
“And I literally sat here all that day not knowing if I want to stay in business or do something else with my life,” he says. “But the community came through they said don’t close we need you and that’s why I’m here.”
Centurione says he and another business are putting up a $1,000 reward for information on the people who broke into his store.
“If we don’t step up as a community it’ll continue to happen just like the Kia boys situation,” Thomas Lovelace, owner of Recherche Genetics says. “Where nobody is speaking up. We need to come together and make something happen.”
Buffalo Police are still investigating.
“We’re not going to give up on this and somebody is going to see you wearing our merchandise," he says. "Because they’re pretty exclusive since we’re the only Buffalo store to have some of the items that you did steal.”
Anyone with information should call Buffalo Police anonymous tip line at 716-847-2255, or by texting the same number.
Giovanni Centurione would like for anyone to also call him at (347) 962-6162.
