Security footage shows a group of masked thieves using the back of a pickup truck to break into a smoke shop in Chatsworth Thursday morning.
“They’re targeting any business they can get their hands on,” said owner George Tomua.
Tomua said they stole thousands of dollars worth of goods and left him with thousands more dollars in repairs. He said it wasn’t the first time this had happened to him. Tomua angrily told the suspects to “work hard for their money” instead of breaking into people’s businesses.
Los Angeles police investigators said they are trying to determine whether the smash-and-grab at Tomua’s smoke shop was connected to another burglary at a North Hollywood cannabis dispensary. Although the North Hollywood incident occurred hours after a pickup truck pulled into Tomua’s shop, there were some similarities between the two alleged crimes.
In the later burglary, suspects drove an SUV through the store, so much so that it got stuck in the store. Officers believe the SUV was used as a getaway car in the first crime.
Jasmine Viel
