MIAMI – Thieves cut a hole in the ceiling of Yanaira Discount Mini Market in Little Havana on Monday.
After dropping several feet to the floor, they stole $300 in cash, several cartons of cigarettes and 19 books of scratch-off Florida Lottery tickets.
Store owner Rita Garcia called police and then notified Florida Lottery officials about the stolen tickets.
Investigators dusted for fingerprints and collected evidence at the badly-damaged store. Garcia did not have insurance on the contents of the store, but she expects that the building owner's insurance will cover the repairs to the roof.
Garcia and her husband have owned the store for three years and don't plan on letting this incident intimidate them.
"(We) have to pick up the pieces and keep going," she told Local 10 News. "Not going to close. We have to think positive."