Murrieta Hair Salon Burglarized, 2 Teens Arrested: Cops

MURRIETA, CA —Murrieta Police Officers arrested two teenage suspects early Sunday morning after a series of after-hours break-ins and cash register thefts, police reported.

The unidentified 17-year-old suspects were booked into the Riverside County Southwest Juvenile Hall on burglary, conspiracy and weapons charges as well as obstruction of justice, according to Murrieta Police Spokesman Lt. James Gruell.

One suspect also had an outstanding and active felony warrant, he said.

Multiple similar burglaries also occurred in the early morning hours in Lake Elsinore and Wildomar, between 1 and 3 a.m. Sunday. Police are still looking for a third burglary suspect in the ongoing investigation.

Just before 3:15 a.m. Sunday, officers arrived at the Murrieta Best Buy parking lot where a 911 caller reported seeing two teens running from a gray truck.

The caller reported also hearing "loud banging and glass breaking," said Gruwell.

A K9 unit officer found the teenage boys a short time later, across Madison Avenue, near the La Mode Beauty Salon.

The two teens appear on surveillance footage, along with another suspect, smashing windows and stealing a cash register at the salon, according to police reports.

"Two loaded un-serialized handguns, commonly referred to as 'ghost guns,' were located at the scene," Gruwell said. Police found one in the suspect's vehicle and the second was located underneath another car nearby, he added.

The owner of the popular Murrieta hair salon, Linda Bower, said that it is the salon's second break-in since coronavirus.

"The last time they took our credit card machine," Bower told Patch. "This time, they took the register, but there wasn't much in it at the time."

In a video she shared with the police, three men broke out the window, rifled through her shop, toppled products and created havoc in the salon.

"My handyman came to our rescue and boarded up the window, and I'll have it replaced as soon as I can," Bower said. "I feel blessed that no one got hurt, that's the most important thing."

She was able to keep her doors open, even with a boarded-up window.

If you have any information on the break-ins, please contact Detective Sgt. Henry Romero at 951-461-6366.

More information will be added when it is released by the police department.