A Chatsworth business fell victim to a brazen burglary as thieves used a pickup truck to smash through the storefront in the early hours of Thursday. According to surveillance footage, the white truck backed through the security gate and shattered the front window of Smoke City on Devonshire Street at approximately 1:30 A.M., a violent act caught on camera and reported by ABC7. The assailants, cloaked in hoodies, beanies, and face masks, descended upon the shop, plundering it before fleeing in an SUV, an act of aggression that left the small business owner grappling with loss and indignation.
George Touma, the owner of Smoke City, voiced his frustration about the recurring crimes, telling KTLA, "You work hard for your life, for your future, and a bunch of crooks, criminals, they just come in a minute and they destroy pretty much everything." Touma lamented the frequency of such incidents and his dwindling confidence in the justice system, saying, "Unfortunately, with the experience that we've had with authorities, nothing was ever done. We don’t believe that anything is going to get done this time either." In a troubling twist of recurrence, nothing was stolen, and the incident reflects a stark picture of crime and punishment in the city.
The Los Angeles Police Department is on the hunt for the group of thieves, which they suspect may be connected to another crime, a ram-raid at a North Hollywood cannabis dispensary called Swish. The attempt at Swish occurred hours after the Smoke City raid, involving a similar mode of operation with a white SUV, but, the intrusion was unsuccessful, and it appeared nothing was taken as reported by NBC Los Angeles.
Adrift in the aftershock of theft and destruction, Touma expressed a sentiment echoing amongst proprietors facing such violence, "When they catch these criminals they let them go," he told ABC7. "It's as if this state -- this beautiful state -- is siding with the criminals instead of siding with the innocent people who are working so hard to make it at the end of the day."
LAPD continues its investigation and urges anyone with information on the incidents to come forward. The connection between the Chatsworth and North Hollywood incidents remains to be confirmed as inquiries progress.
