SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A West Side self-storage facility that has been plagued by a recent string of burglaries appears to have been experiencing this type of problem for some time.
KSAT 12 News has spoken to frustrated customers of Otter Self Storage, located in the 2400 block of SW Loop 410, where police were called there for break-ins on three different occasions during the last month.
However, data shows San Antonio police have fielded 65 calls about burglaries since April.
It is unclear, though, how many of those represent individual break-ins as opposed to customers who were all hit at the same time.
Alex Camarillo said she dodged a burglary bullet earlier this month when crooks hit dozens of storage units but left hers alone.
“‘I’m one of the lucky ones,” he said. “But I have a friend that has a storage here, and hers got broken into, and they took everything,”
Alex Camarillo struggles to gain access to Otter Self Storage, while burglars have been able to get inside multiple times. (KSAT 12 News)
One day recently, after hearing there may have been yet another burglary, Camarillo was especially anxious to get past the front gates of the property to check on her belongings.
The problem was, her gate code wouldn’t work.
Camarillo said this seems to be another ongoing problem with the storage company changing her access code for some reason .
As a result, Camarillo said she often has to spend up to an hour on the phone getting the corporate office to fix the problem.
“There is no one here to help,” Camarillo said. “I don’t think that’s right at all because we’re paying here and I’m never late when I pay my bill.”
Other customers earlier this month also said they have been denied access to their property in the days following break-ins.
KSAT 12 News has contacted the corporate office for Otter Self Storage on several occasions, only to have employees refuse to answer questions and hang up.
Camarillo eventually was able to reach someone by phone who helped her resolve her gate code issue.
Still she wonders why criminals can get onto the property so easily while she has such a tough time.