By reporter Steven Smalley
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A Magnolia Village establishment was the victim of a quick, grab & dash robbery Tuesday as an unknown person entered Sonny & Maria?s Nail Salon on 32nd Avenue and made off with a bank bag full of cash, checks, and credit cards.
?My mom was here by herself,? explains ?Maria,? owner of the shop. ?She walked to the to the bathroom very quickly. When she came back to the front, the bank bag was gone.?
The satchel full of receipts is kept in a drawer near the front door, she said.
?When I saw my bank bag was gone I thought, ?Oh my God.? I?m so sad,? she tells Magnolia Voice. ?When a customer pays, we always open the drawer and put the money in the bank bag.?
Police were called and a report made.
?Police said lately the Magnolia neighborhood has a lot of crime and problems with theft,? she continues. ?Even my customer told me her home was robbed two weeks ago. The thieves broke in and stole a bunch of jewelry. Her next door neighbor was broken into too.?
Although the perpetrator was not seen, a quick investigation around the neighborhood by Magnolia Voice found a witness to suspicious activity at the same time as the robbery.
?About 9:25 I saw a man in his 30?s, 6 foot, slender build, walking on 32nd,? reveals Mike O?Donnell, owner of Magnolia Karate Academy. ?He circled the block a couple of times and then walked through the alley. He was looking in the windows. Something wasn?t right. He didn?t have a purpose circling the block like that.?
?Yesterday I didn?t even want to work. I felt really sad, so I shut down,? Maria explains. ?What can I do? I?m just glad nobody got hurt.?