HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a family-owned hardware store in Highland Township was robbed.
The crooks got away with close to $4,000 worth of specialty merchandise. It was the work of professional criminals, according to the owner of Peter's True Value Hardware.
He says on Wednesday, two men walked into his store wearing hoodies and masks.
"It just didn't look correct to me," Peter Grebeck said.
Grebeck says he left his security camera monitor and walked out of his office to get a closer look.
"Right after I met them, they happened to grab two pieces of concrete equipment and when I confronted them, they immediately said they were going to pay for them and then they ran out front," Grebeck said.
Grebeck made a split-second decision to chase after them. The video shows them heading toward a silver getaway car in the back of the parking lot.
Grebeck jumped in his black truck and nearly clipped the car as they were driving away.
"I know that is not quite the right thing to do, but it felt personal because I own the store and I am actually a third generation now," he said.
Grebeck says people have stolen from his store before but not like this.
The two cement saws are specialty items. He says together, they cost nearly $4,000.
"It is not worth turning in to the insurance company, so unfortunately, it's a loss. It's a big loss and unfortunately, it affects everybody. It affects our customers and it makes me feel like every person who walks in the door is going to steal from us," Grebeck said.
Grebeck says he invested around $3,000 to get more cameras in the parking lot and around the store. He wants customers to feel safe and criminals who target small business owners to get caught.
"We live locally. I went to school locally and my kids go to school locally. We stay in the community and we shop in the community. And for this to happen, I mean, it's happened before, but this one really hurts," Grebeck said.
Grebeck says he got some important information when he posted the security footage online. According to him, there are law enforcement agencies in other counties who think the people involved may be tied to other crimes.
If you have any information call the Oakland County Sheriff's Office at 248-858-4951.
