A thief known for his unique approach - slithering into businesses to avoid motion-activated alarms - has been caught wriggling into a gold exchange and making off with $50,000 worth of silver.
Surveillance footage shows the so-called 'snake burglar' crawling on the carpet of Crown Gold Exchange in Riverside, California, about 55 mi east of Los Angeles, sometime last week.
The thief broke into a vacant storefront next door, used a hammer to break the drywall, and wriggled into Crown Gold Exchange. He then spent five minutes rummaging through the back room, owner Cesar Meyer told KTLA.
The burglar's approach is virtually the same as the one used in at least six robberies in Riverside in recent months, police say.
At Body Tan Salon and Spa in November, a man kicked in a side window at ground level and cut through sheet rock before sliding in and emptying the register.
California has been plagued by smash-and-grab looters and rising property crimes during the past year.
Scroll down for video
Surveillance footage shows the so-called 'snake burglar' crawling on the carpet of Crown Gold Exchange in Riverside, California
He wriggled around on the floor to avoid motion sensors and left with $50K worth of silver
The robbery took place last week at Crown Gold Exchange in Riverside, California, about 55 mi east of Los Angeles
Owner Cesar Meyer says the man was inside the store for a full five minutes and broke in through the drywall in a vacant business right next door
Police are still investigating if the thief from the gold exchange is the same person who committed the November burglaries.
'This Crown Gold Exchange burglary does appear to be very similar, if not the same, to the suspect in the others back in late November. Our detectives are following up on leads but we have not identified the suspect yet,' Riverside Police spokesman Ryan J. Railsback told DailyMail.com.
Video from Crown Gold
