Thieves Plow Truck Into Chatsworth Shop And Ransack The Business
CHATSWORTH, CA — A group of thieves used a stolen pickup truck to smash into a business in Chatsworth overnight, ransacking the store. It was the second day in a row that thieves used such brazen tactics in the San Fernando Valley.
Thursday’s burglary happened at 1:30 a.m. in the 21700 block of Devonshire Street, Los Angeles Police Department Officer David Cuellar told Patch.
“About seven suspects used a stolen white pickup truck to crash into the building,” Cuellar said. “They fled in another unknown vehicle leaving the van at the scene.”
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The target was a smokeshop, and the thieves slammed through a metal security gate, ransacked the business, and made off with an unknown amount of product. They were seen on surveillance cameras wearing hoodies.
The owner of the business, Smoke City, told reporters it was the second time in less than a month that one of his smoke shops was burglarized. Along with shoe stores, smoke shops have become a frequent target of organized theft rings. Earlier this month, a smoke shop owner shot at a group of thieves in Los Angeles County.
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Another smoke shop in North Hollywood was also targeted on Wednesday. Thieves used the exact same modus operandi to break into a shop on Burbank Boulevard, said Cuellar.
That burglary happened at about 3:25 a.m. n the 10700 block of Burbank Boulevard, where suspects crashed a white SUV into a business, ransacked it and fled in a waiting vehicle.
Detectives are working to determine if the two brazen break-ins are related, Cuellar said.
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