FRESNO, Calif. \u2014 It\u2019s one of the worst things that can happen to a small business owner but even more so right before Mother\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
A Fresno single mother says thieves broke into her nail salon and stole thousands of dollar’s worth of tools and supplies she depends on to make a living. <\/p>\n
She believes the theft was pre-planned.<\/p>\n
She says the suspects approached from an angle outside the view of her security cameras.<\/p>\n
They then spray-painted over the cameras and covered them before breaking in. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverything was just pretty much destroyed,” said Angie Castro, the owner of Studio 526, as she describes the moments she walked into the salon. <\/p>\n
She says thieves forced their way inside by breaking the lock on her front door.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur tables were pretty much just thrown everywhere. Product just, it was a mess and that\u2019s when I realized like they had really taken completely like all of our products,” Castro said. <\/p>\n
Castro did not want to go on camera but opened up about the emotional and financial toll the break-in has taken.<\/p>\n
I felt so heartbroken because I\u2019ve poured in, you know, I\u2019ve been going on 13 years doing this and I\u2019ve poured so much\/ I\u2019ve sacrificed so much into owning this business and just to come and see everything just taken away, I just felt defeated.<\/p>\n
It is now costing her an estimated $5,000 to replace what was stolen. <\/p>\n
She says she had just restocked the night before the break-in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey pretty much knew what to take, the airbrush, the drills, the lamps, everything that we really needed to work and to function with our business, it was just gone,” she said. <\/p>\n
But despite the loss, Castro says she is not giving up.<\/p>\n
She is pushing forward with limited supplies as she works to rebuild what she spent years creating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m using one of my friends\u2019 little drills it doesn\u2019t have the power that I would have with my original drill. So, it does make my nail sets a lot longer, “she explains. <\/p>\n
A GoFundMe has been created to help Castro replace the tools and supplies she needs to keep her business running. So far, it has raised about $900.<\/p>\n