Pasadena coffee shop targeted again by fast-moving burglar who stole cash register

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A masked thief targeted a Pasadena coffee shop early Thursday morning, smashing through a window and walking away with the store's cash register -- and the whole thing was caught on camera.

This is the third time Highlight Coffee has been robbed since opening six years ago.

Security cameras captured a fast-moving burglar during an early morning break-in. The video shows him shatter the front window and climb through. Then, he walks behind the counter of the coffee shop and grabs the cash register.

The alarm went off seconds later as he escaped.

"This is the third time that it's happened, so you know, we kind of knew what was happening," the owner, Frank Kim, said.

Kim rushed to his business after being woken up by the alarm company.

"He broke the window, knew exactly where to go. Luckily, because of the last two robberies, we kind of prepared a little bit, and he didn't get away with too much. But yeah, he was in and out," Kim said.

Kim immediately called someone to repair the window. He cleaned up the mess and opened for business as normal on Thursday.

Highlight Coffee was hit with a similar burglary two years ago, and another one just months after the shop opened in 2019.

So far, no arrests have been made.

"I think he's the same guy. He kind of walks the same, he throws the same, he has the same exact strategy," Kim said.

Kim says his business is one of several along Lincoln Avenue in Pasadena that have been burglarized.

Many of Highlight Coffee's regular customers lost their homes in the Eaton Fire, but they have remained supportive of the small business.

"I live here. Our home is in Altadena. We started remediation today. Luckily, it's still standing," Kim said.

Though the burglary is upsetting and costly, Kim says he won't waste his energy focusing on the crime.

"Being here and giving people hope and giving people a place to almost forget, and remind them of before the fire is hugely important to me," Kim said.

Kim filed a police report in hopes that the suspect will be captured.