$100K+ in goods stolen during Saratoga smash & grab

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) — It’s the last thing you want to have happen during the holidays. A small business in Saratoga Springs temporarily closed after thieves stole what the owner says was hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise.

It happened just after five this morning. Security cameras captured two male suspects smashing the entrance of ‘Lola Saratoga’ — and less than two minutes later — walking out with what the owner says was greater than $100,000 worth of handbags and other items. One of the assailants brazenly threw up a peace sign at the camera before escaping onto Broadway. Police say both suspects left in a dark-colored sedan.

The damage was cleaned up fast but the wound is still fresh for shaken store owner Megan Druckman. She rushed to the scene after police called her. “I came in as soon as I could, I basically came down in my pajamas…” Druckman said.

The break-in comes during the critical Christmas sales period. The Broadway boutique owner believes the burglars have been here before, not as customers but as canvassers. 

“They definitely had been in the store prior to coming in because they made a beeline to the back of the store. They broke our two glass cases which had Chanel and Hermès bags and other bags inside" said Druckman.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened, she says another theft happened at her second location in Guilderland last week. Now Druckman's sense of security — like the boutique's front door — has been shattered.

“I immediately was like this can't be happening because we've been in Saratoga for 10 years and we've always felt really safe…” Druckman told NEWS10.

This hits hard for the entrepreneur who built up the brick and mortar from nothing. Druckman however, is more concerned about her employees and how the public will perceive theft from a store like hers.

“People, they might just see luxury, designer, goods, and think oh that's a store that is superficial," Druckman said emotionally. "This is really my livelihood, I employ 12 people," she added.  

If you have any information, call Saratoga Springs Police Investigator John Guzek at jguzek@saratogapolice.org, or visit this website to submit evidence.