During a break-in at El Sinaloense, more than $1,000 in cash, alcohol, and nearly $1,000 worth of shrimp were stolen, according to the restaurant’s owner.
Leo Hernandez said he received a phone call June 17 informing him that someone had broken into the restaurant.
Security camera footage shows the suspect searching for a large rock before using it to smash a window and gain entry, Hernandez said. “He just smashed it. He picked up a big rock and just threw it in there,” Hernandez said. “You could see him on the cameras that he’s going around looking for a big rock, and he just smashed.”
Hernandez said his ties to the community helped identify the suspect. Over the past six years, he said, he has built relationships with people in the neighborhood. After sharing images of the suspect captured on surveillance cameras and comparing them with previous booking photos, Hernandez and others began asking around the area.
Community members identified the suspect as 44-year-old Fabian Soto. Hernandez expressed his disappointment that someone would target his business, despite his efforts to support the neighborhood by providing food and drinks to those in need. Nevertheless, he emphasized that this experience will not diminish his commitment to helping others.
“It’s just you see them and feel bad for them, and if you could help them with like a burrito or a soda or something, we’ll give it to them,” Hernandez said. “That’s how that helped me out to find out who it was that broke in.”
Hernandez credited the community for helping identify the suspect so quickly, saying the relationships he has built over the years played a key role in solving the case.
