CLEVELAND, Texas – Jorge Cuellar called last call, cleaned his bar, and closed the door for the night Sunday, but returned hours later to find the place had been ransacked.
“As soon as I walk in the restaurant, I saw my cash register was all messed up. All over the ground.”
Cuellar, owner of Ro’s Bar and Grill located in the 100 block of S. Washington in Cleveland, also noticed his ATM had been stolen. It was clear he had been robbed, so he wanted to preserve any evidence he could.
”I didn’t want to touch anything at that moment, so, the first thing I did was called the police,” he said.
He then reviewed surveillance video, which confirmed his business had been broken into by two masked men on a mission. They wore backpacks and used crowbars to break into the cash register and several doors inside the business.
Cuellar said between the cash register and the ATM, they got away with $2,200.
“They actually stayed in my place for like two hours. They were trying to break into my safe,” he added.
Cleveland Police Chief Darrel Broussard said his team reviewed the video. Broussard said investigators are working to figure out if the men who robbed Ro’s match descriptions elsewhere.
“We’re currently, right now, trying to get with other agencies in the area that may have similar burglaries, or have seen suspects that appear to be in some of their surveillance,” Broussard said.
As police investigate, Cuellar said he and his staff have kept their heads on a swivel. He believes the burglars cased the business before breaking in, but doesn’t suspect them to be regulars of the establishment.
“We are a family right here,” he said, unsure who would want to hurt his business.
He said the money they stole is only one thing. They also caused a fair amount of damage to his building, from broken locks, to a ruined cash register. That amounts to money he’ll have to come out of pocket to fund repairs.
“To replace everything that we have to do now, we got to come out of our pockets and replace that,” he added.
Cleveland Police are asking anyone with information to give the agency a phone call at (281) 592-2621.