The now infamous Houston area taqueria at which a would-be robber was fatally shot this past week has once again suffered a break-in as of this past Tuesday.
At roughly 2:45 a.m. local time Tuesday morning, a person broke their way into El Ranchito #4 in southwest Houston, after which they stole a sizable sum of money while breaking a number of video poker machines located within the building. Video surveillance of the event shows the robber making use of a crowbar as they rip open the door of the building, and smashing into a group of gambling machines all before running out with a few hundred dollars in cash from the registers.
“When I got here, I looked at the video and I saw the man break into the games and the register,” explained the owner of El Ranchito, Pedro Lopez, to local media outlets.
Video surveillance of the break-in shows a man sporting a mask using a crowbar to force open the main door of the restaurant. The man then smashes open three video poker machines from which he reportedly took additional cash. He then went to the register and pried it open in order to take the cash inside. Lopez explained to local media outlets that the thief only ended up stealing a few hundred dollars.
He explained that his gambling machines are totally ruined, and a news report coming from a local ABC 13 station seemed to highlight that the primary lock on the front door of the building was also severely warped and broken as well.
“I don’t know if it’s against me. I just don’t know,” wondered Lopez. “I think we need to come out ahead of it and move forward. Keep working until someone else comes to rob us.” The shop was able to reopen the day after the break-in took place, stated a report from ABC 13.
This second robbery event takes place just a scant five days after another would-be robber rushed the building only to be shot and killed by a patron as they attempted to rob other people. Witnesses explained to police officials that an African American man sporting all black clothes, black gloves, and a black ski mask rushed into the building, all while waving around what seemed to be a gun and brandishing it at customers while issuing demands for their money, explained officials with the Houston police department.