Some business owners in Los Olivos are scratching their heads after a rash of burglaries this week.
Places like attorneys offices and realtors on San Marcos Avenue were targeted on Monday night. Sides Restaurant was burglarized Wednesday night.
“We were scared cause, who breaks into Los Olivos? Nobody,” said Danica Taylor who works near one of the burglaries.
For a town of fewer than 2,000 people, “crime” and “Los Olivos” aren’t typically used in the same sentence.
“All of us have been very surprised about the break-ins. We’ve never experienced that in this area from what I’ve heard, and we’ve never expected that whatsoever,” said Larry Schaffer, owner of Tercero Wines, a tasting room near the burglaries.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says someone tried to break into six business offices.
They made it into four and took various items. Stamps and some silver were taken from attorney Matt Allen’s office, but all the computers and electronics were left alone.
“It is peculiar that those businesses were targeted. They are off the road so maybe they thought they were easier targets but they’re not retail-oriented, so I don’t really understand why they’d go after those businesses in particular,” Schaffer said.
Now businesses nearby say they’re stepping up security.
“(Corner House Coffee) is gonna invest in cameras now, definitely. We need them just to keep us safe,” Taylor said.
Information about this case is still very limited. The sheriff’s office doesn’t know if it was one person or a group of people and it’s unclear how much was taken.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office anonymous tip line at (805) 681-4171.
