Market Owned By City Councilman Robbed

The Riverside County Sheriff’s office confirms Kennedy’s Market, owned by Coachella City Councilman Gilbert Ramirez, was broken into Thursday morning,

A worker says thousands of dollars in cash and items in the market were stolen in the theft, which happened early in the morning before the store opened.

The market is located at Monroe street in Thermal.

Ramirez is on his way back from Mexico, he tells NewsChannel 3. He was visiting the area with his father.

The sheriff’s department will only confirm that a deputy was called out to the market early this morning to investigate a possible burglary.

The store co-owner says 2 safes filled with jewelry, money and other items were taken along with two cash drawers from the registers. They also say thousand of dollars of liquor, calling cards, and cigarettes were also stolen.

This comes on the heels of an investigation that is underway after Ramirez shot at a person he says tried to cash a bad check at the store, then run him over with his car back in March. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing the case that was submitted by the Sheriff’s Department last week.

Ramirez family members, however, are concerned that only one deputy was dispatched to the store when the burglary call came in. Also they are concerned that parts of the security system for the store was taken into evidence after the previous incident at the market.

The sheriff’s department confirms to News Channel 3 that they took parts of the store’s surveillance equipment as evidence, with the consent of Gilbert Ramirez. They also say three deputies were on the scene of the call. The burglary is being investigated.