Carvel ice cream shop in Westwood looted

LOS ANGELES - Steve Winick started the New Year with a dreaded text. 

A friend sent him photos of his vandalized ice cream shop.

Five out of seven windows were shattered, but Winick said the only thing that was taken was the cash register which had less than $200 in it.

"It’s New Year’s so obviously no one is going to come out today," Winick said. 

He explained that he had no way to board up his windows or secure his store. 

But what really upset Winick is that he said three other businesses in the shopping center on the 11000 block of Santa Monica Boulevard have been burglarized in recent months. 

Winick said he has no idea what time the thieves struck his store or how many people were involved because he said the landlord ripped out the security cameras and never replaced them.

He believes cameras could have provided valuable leads, or maybe even deterred the crime. 

"The fact that we have no visible cameras is not a good thing," he said.

FOX 11 reached out to the property owner for comment but could not reach him.

Winick has set up a GoFundMe to help cover his $5,000 deductible for repairing the damage.  

Here's a good update - a day after seeing this story air on FOX 11, a viewer who works for a window company has since offered to help Winick with cleanup and measurements for installation.