Thousands of dollars worth of electrical equipment stolen from multiple businesses

Update: Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the burglaries.

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Bill Caruso has owned Caruso’s Top Shop located in Palm Desert’s Country Club Business Park for about 15 years.

“It’s been great,” Caruso said. “It’s just, when nobody’s here at night, and nobody’s here during the weekend, things happen.”

He said he’s been dealing with something that sparked at his shop Thursday morning.

“My guys were calling me, and they say ‘Hey, there’s no electricity,” he said. “So, they’re actually stealing the breakers at the time when my guys are working.”

But he said that was just the beginning.

“That night, our management team put locks on everything, new locks,” Caruso said. “That night, they came in and broke all of the doors, got back in and stole just ours.”

He said he was not alone.

“I just found out this (Friday) morning there were other six other buildings broken into,” he said. “I had no idea.”

Caruso said nearly four dozen breakers were stolen from seven buildings across the property, worth in total of about $60,000.

“There’s a market for everything,” Caruso said. “They stole batteries last year. They stole water pipes the year before. They steal anything that has a markable value.”

But now, Caruso and other business owners hope to have their power restored soon, and find out whoever is responsible.

“Justice would be them getting what they needed to deserve to get,” he said. “And to see the suffering of all these owners go through, they need to suffer a little bit somehow.

Caruso said all power should be restored sometime over the weekend.

He said he’s offering a $2,000 reward for the return of those breakers. and a $2,000 reward for anyone who can find whoever is responsible for stealing the equipment. Caruso can be reached at (760) 345-7033.

Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station at (760) 836-1600.