THORNTON, Colo. (KDVR) — Police are investigating after two small house painting businesses were robbed over the weekend in Thornton.
The thefts happened early Saturday morning in a neighborhood near Washington Street and Thornton Parkway.
One of the targeted businesses was CO Painting Pro, owned by Myrna Solorzano. Security footage shows two people taking tools out of Solorzano’s work van around 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
“These guys are just getting better at it,” Solorzano said. “All of our locks were destroyed. We had two major locks in the back, just destroyed within minutes.”
Solorzano said the thieves stole three paint sprayers, which had a combined worth of about $12,000, along with other tools.
The van was parked outside her business partner’s home near Thornton Parkway and Washington Street.
The loss of equipment has forced Solorzano to cancel two jobs next week and cut back hours for her employees.
“It’s very sad that these individuals don’t know how much it affects us as small-business owners, and the families behind it,” she said. “And the customers that have already scheduled their projects with us.”
Just around the corner, another painting company’s van was also targeted. The owner’s wife, who asked not to be identified, said thieves broke the locks on her husband’s van early Saturday morning and stole about $5,000 worth of equipment.
“It’s very scary because your vehicle is an extension of your home,” she said. “You’re left not being able to sleep at night because you hear every noise, and it’s just sad.”
For Solorzano, the business break-in came just days after her personal car was also burglarized. Police were able to recover her stolen tablet after it connected to Wi-Fi at a Burger King. But without a tracking system, she said she doesn’t expect to get her painting tools back.
“These tools end up in pawnshops, on Marketplace on local buy and sell apps and Craigslist,” Solorzano said. “People are buying these tools, they don’t care.”
Both families are asking neighbors to check their security cameras for any suspicious activity and to report any recent vehicle break-ins to police. They hope the extra information will help investigators track down the suspects.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
