A trio of teenage girls is sought by law enforcement after they were caught on video burglarizing a Hollywood smoke shop right before its grand opening, nabbing thousands of dollars in merchandise.
Surveillance footage from the Hollywood Boulevard Smoke Shop, captured the young perpetrators, carrying backpacks, as they strategically executed the heist on Tuesday evening. Despite their age, the teens showcased a brazen disregard for the law as one of them shattered the shop's window with what appeared to be a steel rod to gain entry, as reported by WSVN. "OK, just go," one girl is heard instructing her accomplice in the video detailed by WSVN.
The owner, Yaacov Poston, was gearing up for the planned grand opening the following week when the break-in occurred. He told Local 10 News that his establishment was burglarized by what he believed was a gang of teenagers. The criminals quickly filled their bags with goods from the shelves but had to abort their mission prematurely when the store's alarm went off, sending them fleeing the scene and leaving behind potential evidence.
Investigators have been working hard to unravel the identity of the young thieves who managed to pilfer an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 worth of smoke shop products. The damage to the business premises however, not inclusive of this alarming figure, as Local 10 News reported. Police have collected evidence and dusted for fingerprints in an attempt to track down the culprits.
Hollywood Police officers responded to the triggered alarm entering the establishment with guns at the ready, but by then, the adolescent culprits were already gone. The shop, located across from City Hall along the 2500 block of Hollywood Boulevard, was left with a boarded-up window in the aftermath. As of the time of reporting, the suspects remain at large with the Hollywood Police Department urging anyone with information regarding the theft to come forward.
Members of the community with any information about the crime or the whereabouts of the suspects should contact Hollywood Police Department at 954-764-4357, or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS to possibly be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
