If Joshua Kynd had been running just a couple hours early on Monday, he might have caught the burglar in the act. Instead he arrived at his business, Retroplex Records on Jupiter Road in Garland, after one or multiple thieves had already ransacked the place.
The store is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays each week, but Kynd, who also works as a house DJ, stopped by late Monday afternoon to pick up some gear he needed for the Future Shock party that night at Crown & Harp.
"I had a gig on Christmas night and then I had another gig on the day after and I was coming to flip flop the equipment I needed for the two gigs," he said.
That's when he was surprised to discover one of the front windows had been busted in. According to a Facebook post Kynd made Tuesday, the list of stolen inventory so far includes DJ decks, mixers, a laptop, tools, 100 records, vintage clothing and cash totaling approximately $12,000 in value.
"Me and my wife have worked so hard to build [Retroplex] up, took a massive loan to get going and dropped everything we have/had into it," Kynd's post reads. "We are broke and struggle month to month to make the bills and really can't afford to go backwards like this. This kind of shittyness [sic] could easily put us out of business."
He said there was more cash in the store than usual since they were coming off a healthy Christmas weekend. Some of the equipment and tools taken are also critical to his other jobs as a DJ and a custom audio and video technician. Because of the burglary, he was forced to cancel his appearance at Future Shock.
"Not having some of my gear will keep from my work in that field," he said. "They took all my tools for money making."
Since the store would normally be closed on Tuesdays anyway, the police had plenty of time to collect evidence and review the security cameras. "I just haven't heard yet," Kynd said Wednesday evening.
"The police have the DVR with the video of the break-in all the way up to them ripping out the cameras," his Facebook post continued. "So I will be meeting with them soon to watch it. I really hope it's someone I do not know."
But in his conversation with the Observer, Kynd seemed optimistic that the perpetrator was a stranger, and that the incident was just a random bit of terrible luck. He told us this is the first crime the business has dealt with.
"I think it was just a random criminal act," he said. "I don’t have any enemies."
On the contrary, many of Kynd's friends in the DJ community have shown support for him and the business he runs with his wife, Amber, since they heard the news.
"Being a DJ in the community for the past 20 years, I’ve got a name brand for what I do and myself, so I’ve got a lot of friends who’ve shown attention," Kynd said. "They've created a GoFundMe to help recoup what was lost."
The GoFundMe, created Tuesday, has reached over $2,000 of its $12,000 goal at the time of writing, with 38 people making donations to help the Kynds get their money making ventures up and running again.
"It's time for this Dallas house music family to pull together and help our own," the description reads.
Some of the donations were accompanied by personal stories about Retroplex. "This store has been a home away from home since I moved here last summer," Eroc Jones writes, along with his $50 donation. "I really hope things work out for you guys."
Another local DJ, Bryan Coonrod, also created a Facebook event asking vinyl fans and friends of the Kynds to show them support by turning out to buy records and clothing at Retroplex, which specializes in both.
Although Kynd said he's had better days, he is placing his faith in the loyalty of his customers and seems more optimistic about Retroplex's ability to weather this incident than his initial Facebook post suggested.
"If anything, [our clientele] will do more," he said.
The only real regret he expressed is that he didn't show up just a bit earlier, in time to stop the crime, but he quickly reconsidered. "Everything happens for a reason."
Retroplex Records is located at 2206 S. Jupiter Road in Garland.