The owner of a California arcade that was looted by a group of vagrants was forced to raid a nearby homeless camp in search of stolen goods after being told by police that his hands were tied.
Shortly after Will Luna shut down his special arcade in San Bernardino on Wednesday night, a woman hiding in the attic fell inside and unlocked the door, security video showed.
A group of at least 18 people then spent the Thanksgiving holiday, Wednesday night into early Friday morning, removing everything that wasn't tied up, including an X-Men arcade machine.
“They were just there, coming and going. They were all free,” Luna said at Best Buy, where the criminals had purchased high-end gaming monitors to replace the ones they got away with.
Homeless thieves allegedly stole the arcade's surveillance cameras, game consoles, debit card readers, snacks, keys to all the game consoles, and even an X-Men arcade cabinet before dragging it to a nearby homeless camp. This was revealed on camera footage. .
Luna said police conducted a basic investigation into the dastardly crime, but before police could begin their investigation, a vagrant had stolen the owner's stolen goods at a homeless camp behind the building on Friday. He said he had found it. Luna said she decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I checked all their tents. I started knocking them down,” Luna said. “I was tearing apart all the tents, and I start finding my stuff.”
Luna finds a stash of gaming accessories, machine circuit boards, and even stolen snacks as she destroys the first tent village with the Hulk and continues her rampage at another camp across the street.
At one point, Luna said she called police, but responding officers told her she was not authorized to enter or move the tent.
“I said, 'Why can't you guys move this and put it in there?' They said, 'You can't do that.' It violated the rights of homeless people,” Luna recalled. “I said, 'I don't care how much rights they have. These guys have what's mine.'”
Eventually, Luna and police reached an agreement, he said.
“They said, 'We can't go in, but you can come in.'” So I did. I kept breaking it. ”
Luna said some of her most valuable equipment was missing, including several PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch consoles and a rare X-Men machine.
Looters also entered a saloon adjacent to Luna's Arcade, smashed a window and stole a cash register.
He said all the businesses inside the small retail and worship center, including a pizza restaurant and church in addition to a salon and arcade, have been broken into in recent years as three nearby homeless camps have grown.
He said the men stood next to the salon's window and masturbated while looking at female customers, urging the owner to call the police and remove them.
Shortly after, someone set the store on fire.
“They’re engaging us hard right now,” Luna said.
“Sorry, just one second,” Luna added, pausing the conversation to pay for her BestBuy purchase. “I need to spend $1,300 of my life quickly.”
