Alexandria business owner encourages safety measures after high-end items stolen
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now) — A small business in Old Town Alexandria has a warning for other shops in the area after a burglary.
Alicia Valencia Erb, who owns Vida Style, a consignment shop on N Lee St., said early in the morning of February 29, about $50,000 worth of high-end handbags and jewelry was taken — with glass windows and display cases smashed.
“I think once you get over that shock, you just turn into, ‘okay, how do we recover,'” Valencia Erb said.
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The shop’s owner said recovering includes talking to her staff about how to remain safe while also bolstering the security system. Cameras line the walls of the store, now.
“I just feel we should all be aware of what’s happening,” she said.
Valencia Erb said even though the area is perceived safe, and for the most part she believes it is, she wants business owners to be prepared for anything.
“If something doesn’t feel right, if something doesn’t feel right in your gut, call the police,” she said.
According to public crime data in Alexandria, there have been 56 burglaries through April 24 in 2024. In that same time in 2023, there were 57. That’s slightly up from 2022, though slightly down from 2021.
“We just think these things aren’t going to happen to us, but they are,” she said.
DC News Now asked Alexandria police to confirm Valencia Erb’s account that one of the two alleged burglars was arrested. They did not respond by the time our story aired.
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