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Liquor Store Owner Turns To Facebook For Help Tracking Down Thief

HEMET (CBSLA.com) — A Hemet liquor store owner is hoping social media can help him track down an armed thief.

The Mega Liquor Warehouse store on South State Street has been hit by crooks so many times owner Victor Maidah is taking to the internet for justice.

CBS2's Crystal Cruz reports Maidah, who has installed a mega security system with 48 cameras, says it came in handy recently when a man robbed his store.

"He goes for the money, he knows exactly where to go, took him a second, he grabbed the blue bag and he's running," Maidah pointed out in surveillance footage.

The thief took off with thousands of dollars as Maidah, who was unarmed, chased after him.

"He ran by me before I even got to him," Maidah said.

In the midst of the chaos, Maidah said the suspect left behind his bike. The store owner posted a picture of the bike and a message about the robbery on Facebook hoping to catch him.

"One lady says, 'It looks like my husband's bike that was stolen about a week ago.' Now do I buy that it's really stolen? I don't really know," he said.

Officers are following up on the lead and were at the store Tuesday night.

Maidah is asking for any customers who might know the suspect to call police.

Authorities say no arrests have been made.

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