More Than 100 Items Taken in Park Estate Antiques Burglary in The Village

, a staple business in La Mesa Village, was the victim of an early morning burglary Thursday, which owner Arlene Moore described as a “smash and grab.”

Only four days after the ninth annual Antique Street Faire, Moore was notified by her alarm company about 2:10 a.m.

She arrived only minutes later, with La Mesa police already at the scene. Sheriff’s Department K-9 units were deployed to help clear the scene and see if any suspects were still in the store, according to police Lt. Matt Nicholass.

Moore said that the burglar(s) broke the front door and a few large glass display cases, before making off with more than 100 items from the antique store.

She said that the store is still open today, but that they are in the process of cleaining up the mess.

“It’s terrible to see all of my work, and all of my stuff smashed, and broken glass everywhere,” said Moore, who is president of the . “It sucks. But it’s also unfortunate for the community itself, because it scares everyone else in the neighborhood.”

Moore added that she had her front door fixed early this morning, “so it wouldn’t be boarded up in the morning and leave a bad impression.”

Estimates on how much was lost are not yet known. Moore said the store is fully insured.

Police have no leads on any suspects, but are hopeful, as is Moore, that they can obtain clues from the store’s multiple surveillance cameras.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on this case or others is asked to call the La Mesa Police Department at (619) 667-1400. You may also call Crime Stoppers’ anonymous toll-free tip line (888) 580-TIPS or sdcrimestoppers.com.

“The police were here pretty much right away,” said Moore. “But [the burglars] were just in and out.”

Despite being victimized, Moore seemed to have a relatively positive attitude about the incident.

“It definitely sucks,” she said, “but at the same time I’m not going to go shouting ‘Oh my God! The sky is falling!’ It doesn’t do any good for me or anyone else either.”

Moore reiterated that she still believes that La Mesa is a safe community, and acknowledged that “these things happen” sometimes.

She did offer a suggestion to her fellow La Mesans, though.

“Come and buy something at Park Estate and help us make up for a very bad day,” she said.