Smash-and-grab burglars target another San Francisco audio store

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) – Three masked men wearing hoodies smashed in the front window of a San Francisco audio store early Wednesday morning and carried away speakers and other merchandise before fleeing the scene, authorities said.

The burglary comes just five days after another ‘smash and grab' at a high-end audio store – Audio Vision -- 11 blocks away on California and Polk.

A thief or thieves used a pickup truck as a battering ram to force their way into that store and quickly fled with merchandise. The burglary caused about $100,000 in damage to the building.

There have been a handful of other similar burglaries across the Bay Area, according the owner of the Audio Vision store.

This was also the second time in three weeks the store on the corner of Bush and Steiner – the scene of Wednesday's smash-and-grab – had been targeted by thieves who took $20,000 worth of equipment during the first break-in.

"The suspects in this one had on dark clothing, hoodies and handkerchiefs over their faces," said San Francisco Police Sgt. Dean Marcic. "They drove up in a red truck, smashed windows, made entry and started carrying out various items."

Witnesses said the three men spent a good deal of time clearing out of the store before fleeing.