Thieves broke into an East Bay sporting goods store that's been around for decades and stole tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise.
Kelly Neylon, owner of Mary and Joe's Sporting Goods in Albany, said nearly 200 fitted baseball hats for professional teams were among the items taken from the store, which is a go-to spot for local high school sports programs and at one point even made jerseys for professional Bay Area sports teams.
"I can deal with the clothing, I mean, everybody steals clothing some time," Neylon said. "But when I looked at my hats, that’s a big part of my business here. A lot of people can’t get hats close by, so they always come to me."
The way the thieves entered the store raised some red flags. Neylon said they broke into the meter room in the back of the building, carving a hole through the sheet rock to get into the store. A safe near the room was opened up, but it didn't have anything in it.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Neylon said very few people even know about the room, which makes the crime even more concerning.
"How did you even know that was the meter room? How did you know that if you broke into that that you were actually going to get in? I don't know," Neylon said.
A police report was filed with the Albany Police Department. Police didn't immediately respond to NBC Bay Area's request for an update on the case.
Local
In the meantime, Neylon is trying to move forward but said the incident is already impacting her everyday life.
"This is my livelihood," she said. "This is how I make my money to live and survive and make house payments, buy a car, the simple things, groceries, you know," she said.
