Indian American store owner in Ohio targeted by thieves

Rakesh “Rocky” Patel seeks more help from police after series of bold alcohol thefts caught on camera

The Indian American owner of a convenience store in downtown Cleveland, Ohio has asked for more police help after repeated thefts despite spending thousands of dollars on security.

Rakesh or “Rocky” Patel told news5cleveland.com he’s doing all he can to keep robberies from happening so frequently — everything from cameras to door locks.

Patel, who co-owns City Foods, told the channel he believes the same two or three thieves have been targeting his store. He shared with News 5 Investigators surveillance videos showing how bold they are.

READ: Indian American killed in gas station armed robbery (January 23, 2023)

In one video from early December, a man is seen grabbing alcohol from a top shelf. An employee is thrown to the floor while trying to keep him from getting away with the bottles.

“Before they used to cover their face and come, and now they don’t even have fear,” Patel said.

“The day after Christmas, a thief reached over a shopping cart blocking the wine aisle. It happened like three weeks in a row — one week continuously, like every day,” Patel said.

READ: Indian grocery store clerk shot dead in Georgia in daylight robbery (September 19, 2022)

Patel has been selling beer, wine and groceries at City Foods on East 12th Street and Chester Avenue since 2018. Security cameras are all over the store, and employees can lock the door to try to keep thieves from running out, but Patel said it’s still not enough.

Patel has had to re-arrange store shelves and put the expensive stuff higher up. “As you see, these are all blocked so nobody can come and run away with it. That’s what I did, and put these cases so they can’t even push and knock it down,” Patel told the channel.

Police, according to News5 say the theft investigations are very active and special attention to the area will continue until arrests are made. Patel wants more police patrols at night when the crimes are mostly happening.