A string of burglaries has swept through San Fernando Valley businesses overnight with thieves targeting two smoke shops and a hydroponics store, according to local police reports and surveillance footage. ABC7 reported that Your Smoke Shop in Van Nuys suffered a break-in around 3 a.m., with suspects yanking the security gate off its hinges using a vehicle, a method mirrored in a burglary at another smoke shop, SL Smokes, located just five minutes away on Victory Boulevard and included the theft of an ATM.
SL Smokes was hit around 1 a.m., resulting in a missing ATM and dismantled front security doors, "a concerning" development for nearby business owners, one told ABC7, foreshadowing a potential threat to other stores in the area because if they have the eyes to break this, they will have the eyes to break any others stores. Police have not confirmed a connection between the incidents, nor have they provided details on the suspects or vehicles involved, outside a witness's claim of a gray GMC Yukon sighted at SL Smokes according to CBS Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, FOX 11 covered a third scene at Green Coast Hydroponics in North Hollywood, where a break-in was confirmed at 4:15 a.m. Although not immediately linked, the two smoke shop break-ins were connected by the use of the same SUV and suspects in surveillance footage. No final word on whether the crime at Green Coast Hydroponics shares this connection, though the method of operation notably resembled the other incidents.
In response to the chaos, shop owners are left assessing damages significantly outweighing the loss by theft, CCTV capturing the boldness of the heist at Your Smoke Shop as they contemplated an ATM heist before abandoning the act, "The amount of damage done was greater than anything stolen," an unfortunate setback for what is a family-operated business this information was shared by the family to FOX 11. As of now, the Los Angeles Police Department has made no arrests and continues to investigate; businesses affected are bracing themselves for the repercussions of such brash criminality.
