NEW ORLEANS — A very popular bakery known for its king cakes is the latest target of car burglars.
They broke into nine cars at the Dong Phuong Bakery in New Orleans East. It took place around 3 am on Chef Highway near Village De L'Est. On surveillance video a group of burglars are seen get out of a dark car. And like other recent pieces of surveillance video from around New Orleans the burglars smash then dash.
"They broke into 9 vehicles within five minutes," said Stephanie Modica, the manager at the bakery.
When the overnight employees at Don Phuong got off work this morning, damaged cars and broken glass greeted them.
The bakery, which won James Beard recognition for its king cake, is beyond busy, trying to meet the demand for Mardi Gras. That means employees are working tremendous hours only to see their car damaged.
"For some of these people it's going to be half of the pay checks is going to go to this and they have families to support, they have children. And when you think of it that way, it disgusts you," said Modica.
That feeling of disgust is in many neighborhoods, but especially in New Orleans East. Since January, criminals have hit the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church multiple times, which is just blocks away from the bakery.
"It's so many people it's affecting. Just in one night, it's nine people but the previous time that it happened, less than a month ago it was six people in our parking lot.
Then you go to the church down the road then there's another 20 vehicles that were broken into," said Modica. There are people behind those numbers and those numbers are increasingly affecting more people across New Orleans. During a season of carnival, that's not something to celebrate. So far there’s no word on suspects the last incident of break-ins.
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The popular bakery traditionally experiences even more business during Carnival season, as customers flock to get Dong Phuong king cake.
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