Perk Plaza business owner fed up with crime after shooting last week

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Owner Rocky Patel of City Foods on Chester avenue is frustrated.

“Petty theft in front of your eyes people stealing stuff from your store, and you know that they are running away, and you can’t do anything about it,” he said.

You can see a man walking out with two bottles without paying and the cashier running behind him in the footage Patel gave 19 News.

“Safety that’s the main issue safety for the people,” he said.

It’s not the first eyebrow raising incident here. Just last week, 19 News reported a shooting at Perk Plaza.

“As a businessman it’s not a great situation,” Patel said.

This week Patel said he had a meeting with Third District Police and the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, hoping for more security and the area to be more frequently patrolled.

To add insult to injury, Patel told 19 News since the theft he’s seen the man that did it walking around in the area again.

He’s told his employees to beware.

“I have told them not to do anything but just call the police right away,” Patel added.

Cleveland Police told us they have not heard anything about new problems from the business community as a whole for the area, but the district has increased patrol presence at Perk park.

19 News reached out to the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, but have not heard back yet.

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