Metro beauty shop owner says thieves stole over $300K worth of merchandise from her storage unit

Larry Spruill
·2 min read

A Cobb County beauty shop owner said someone stole more than $300,000 worth of products from the storage warehouse.

It happened over the weekend.

Ricola Elizabeth is the owner of Perfect Distraction Hair Gallery and she has two locations in Smyrna and Sandy Springs.

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Trying to hold back her frustration and tears, she recalled the moment she said someone attacked her livelihood.

“When I opened up the space I noticed it was empty and then when I went to the bins, I noticed that all of the inventory was gone,” said Elizabeth. “Someone came into the actual unit and took the extensions out of the space.”

She uses the storage unit at the Space Shop Self Storage in Smyrna as a warehouse to store the overflow of inventory for her stores and on-line website.

Elizabeth said now it’s all gone and she’s $300,000 in the hole.

“When I came in, the locks were locked. I was like how did they get into it? It wasn’t until the police arrived that I noticed that they came in over the top of the bin because the actual mesh was damaged,” said Elizabeth.

Smyrna Police processed fingerprints from the top of the unit and the bins.

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Channel 2′s Larry Spruill stopped by the management office on Monday.

They declined an on-camera interview request.

“Don’t come in here with that camera. (Do you have anything to say on your behalf?) I need you to get out of here with that camera,” said the property manager.

They released this statement: “We understand the concern and seriousness of the situation and would like to assure you that we are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation.

Based on the information we have gathered thus far, we believe this to be an isolated incident specifically targeting Ms. Elizabeth’s storage unit. We condemn any form of theft or unauthorized access and are committed to supporting Ms. Elizabeth during this unfortunate event.

It is important to note that all our tenants are encouraged to have insurance coverage for their stored belongings. In this case, Ms. Elizabeth has insurance on her unit, which will assist in the rectification process. We recommend that all customers review their insurance options to protect their belongings from such unforeseen circumstances.

Regarding your request for an interview or statement, we appreciate your interest in covering this incident. At this time, we are focused on supporting our customer and assisting the authorities with their investigation. As the investigation progresses and we gather more information, we will certainly consider providing an official statement to address any concerns or provide updates.

Once again, we would like to emphasize our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our customers’ belongings. We understand the distress caused by incidents like this and will continue to work diligently to prevent such occurrences in the future.

Thank you for your understanding”

Elizabeth said she has insurance but it doesn’t cover the amount of merchandise she had in there. That’s because when she first got the insurance two years ago, there wasn’t $300,000 of merchandise in the unit.

Smyrna Police said this case is under prosecution.

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