SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio father is devastated after someone stole thousands of dollars’ worth of property from an East Side storage unit, including all of his children’s Christmas presents.
Julio Garcia said he has been selling items online since the start of the pandemic.
Garcia said he kept his inventory safely secured inside three storage units at Public Storage located on the access road of Interstate 35 North near North New Braunfels Avenue.
Garcia said he never had an issue with the security of the location, which is why he felt safe enough to leave historical artifacts, personal memories, items for his business and even his children’s Christmas presents.
On Thursday, he made an unfortunate discovery.
“I came back to the storage unit that night because I had sold some items,” he said. “I wasn’t able to go up to my floor because the code wouldn’t let me in. I came back around 6 the next morning and still couldn’t get in. I wasn’t able to go up until about 1 p.m., and I looked and realized that two of the three units had been broken into.”
Garcia said the locks of the unit had been cut with bolt cutters and the doors had been damaged.
He said up to $8,000 worth of property had been stolen, but the things he cared most about were the presents.
“I was really heartbroken because that was the thing that really hurt,” he said. “We were happy that we beat the crowd, we beat Black Friday and had it all ready, and then this happened. The good side of this is that we have a little more time before Christmas.”
Garcia said he is currently raising money to replace the stolen presents for his children, but he has to start from scratch.
While San Antonio police investigate, Garcia recommends other customers check their belongings at that location.
KSAT 12 News reached out to the corporate office of Public Storage but have yet to get a response.
SAPD is urging people to call 911 if they notice suspicious activity, or anything out of place with their property at their storage unit.