GOODYEAR, AZ — A smoke shop in Goodyear is calling for more accountability after its store fell victim to a smash-and-grab burglary.
“They’re pretty much scoping out the shop, making sure no one is there," said Ericka James, the Toke N’ Smoke co-owner. “It was a very coordinated effort on their part. After a few minutes, they threw the rock through the glass.”
James told ABC15 this all happened early morning on November 20 of last year.
The surveillance video she provided shows three men using a bin to grab merchandise from the back before they stowed it away in their car and got away.
It all took about a minute, but the damage will take longer to recover from.
“All in all, between the property and the loss of product, it came to about $17,000," said James.
In the wake of what happened, James says detectives told her something shocking.
“By the way those guys moved, their MO, the way they came in through the door, the way they moved through the building and the items that they took, that they were the same ones that had done a few other break-ins as well,” said James.
This is not the first time thieves have used smash-and-grab techniques to hit smoke shops in the Valley. Just a few weeks earlier, burglars used a stolen car to crash through the front door of a Tempe smoke shop, all to steal high-demand vapes.
James wants to see more accountability for these types of crimes.
“I want to see that these guys are held accountable for what they did, that they have to pay restitution, not only to us, but to the other shops if they’re found guilty for those as well," said James.
