Second Nail Salon Hit In Distraction-Style Burglary

Two nails salons were burglarized Friday afternoon and the store owners believe they were hit by the same group of women who tried to distract them.

Kenneth and Fong Ha, the owners of Carpinteria Nails, said three women came into their shop pretending to want their nails done. After they left, they found out they had been robbed.

“We were surprised because we trust people. People come in to get their nails done, not to come in and steal,” said Fong Ha.

The couple has owned Carpinteria Nails for 17 years and for the first time, they were hit by thieves.

“Oh, I think it’s horrible. I mean it’s the hard-working people that are honest and trust people when they walk in their door and they get hit. I think it’s horrible,” said customer Hope Bryant.

On Friday afternoon, Kenneth Ha left to pick up their son. As he walked out through the back door, three women came in the front.

“They walked in, very noisy. A lot of questions and also moving around, walking everywhere,” said Fong Ha.

As Fong was giving a pedicure to a customer, one of the three women started asking her questions about how much she charges. As she was speaking with her, another women walked around a corner where customers aren’t allowed to go and snagged two purses with $700, car keys, credit cards and a phone.

Their story is very similar to what happened to the owners of Fancy Nails in Santa Barbara that same day. Taylor Tran and his wife Thanh Nguyen said five women, matching the same description, walked in and when the group left, an iPad and purse with $5,000 were missing.

Back at Carpinteria Nails, Fong said she too found out she had been robbed after the group quickly left.

“So five minutes later I walk in to get something from my purse, and I asked my mom, ‘Where’s my purse?’ And then she came and said, ‘Where’s my purse?’ And that’s when we found out.”

While her husband was still out of the shop, she called him.

“And said, ‘Honey, I lost my purse.’ How did you lose your purse? I was there all day all morning. ‘Those ladies, they just robbed my purse.’ So it’s just like wow!” said Kenneth.

He warned other businesses in the area of the group and said he will keep an eye out so his shop isn’t targeted again.

Both the Santa Barbara Police and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s departments are looking into the burglaries. A neighboring business in Santa Barbara has surveillance video they are sharing with law enforcement.