LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Owners at a Las Vegas pickleball store, located in the Summerlin community, said their store has been hit by thieves twice in the last month. They're now reaching out to the public to find the people responsible and get answers.
Alessandra Wheeler and Evan Stanko are the owners of G.O.A.T Pickleball and tell Channel 13 the recent thefts have been disheartening.
"We're a small business," Wheeler said. "It's just Evan and me. We put a lot of hard work into this. We're in the community. It's just terrible that people are willing to steal from local people."
Both incidents were caught on surveillance camera.
The first occurred at the end of February, during non-business hours. Wheeler said the person somehow unlocked the front entrance and came into the store.
In the surveillance footage, you can see the person take several items and leave out the front entrance.
The second incident occurred Friday, during business hours, while Stanko was helping another customer.
You can see this person hide a paddle in his jacket in the surveillance video.
Wheeler said that person then entered another pickleball business in the valley, but officers were not able to arrive in time to locate the person.
"After the first break-in, we have just about every security protocol you can think of," Wheeler said. "I mean, multiple locks, security cameras. But when something like this happens and people are just able to walk in and steal stuff, there's really no stopping it."
Wheeler and Stanko have filed police reports in both cases. Anyone with information is asked to call Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
