(WXYZ) — Westland police are searching for a suspect who stole hundreds of dollars from tip jars at a local Mexican market and restaurant in two separate incidents.
Watch Whitney Burney's video report:
The thefts occurred at La Tiendita, a family-owned business that has served the community since 2016. Surveillance video captured a group of young men visiting the store on Thursday. At one point, one of the young men stole money from a tip jar at the market. Days later, one of the suspects returned to the La Tiendita restaurant next door and stole the entire tip jar.
WATCH: Surveillance video shows both tip jar incidents:
"I was a bit upset. Mostly because we never have this kind of situation here," said Christian Arreola, owner of La Tiendita. "Someone stealing here, especially money, but it happens. It can happen to anybody. It's not really about the money — I mean, yeah, it is for our employees — but it's just the fact that he had the nerve to do that sort of thing, especially with customers in here."
Arreola said the stolen money would have gone directly to his employees at the market and restaurant, which just opened this past spring.
"We are a small business. So you compare us to a supermarket, for us it means a lot," Arreola said.
The family business started as a grocery store and meat market in 2016. The restaurant next door offers tacos, ice cream and fresh fruit.
"We are a market. Originally, we started with groceries and meats back in 2016. We serve a lot for the community — Mexican-style cuts, marinades," Arreola said.
The business has taken to social media, hoping to identify the person responsible for the thefts.
Arreola used the incident as an opportunity to remind people that actions have consequences.
"Think about what you do before you do something like that," Arreola said.
Westland police are investigating both incidents. Anyone with information about the person caught on surveillance video is asked to contact Westland Police.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
