Two masked men backed a stolen car into Golden Vapor Smoke Shop on the 4700 block of Dyer Street in Northeast El Paso, then climbed through the wrecked storefront and made off with merchandise before speeding away, according to El Paso police. The crash-and-grab left the business with $5,000 in damage and $2,890 in stolen goods, and investigators are now asking the public for help identifying the suspects.
According to KFOX, surveillance video captured the two men crashing the vehicle in reverse into the store before entering and grabbing items off the shelves. The car had reportedly been stolen the day before the crash, and it was later recovered after the burglary, though it's unclear whether the suspects were inside it at the time. Police describe both men as white or Hispanic, wearing light-colored hooded sweatshirts, black face masks and athletic shoes.
A Familiar Pattern for El Paso Vape Shops
Golden Vapor Co LLC operates several locations across El Paso, including one on Montana Avenue, and sells vapes, e-juices and specialty snacks out of its Dyer Street storefront, per SmokeShops.com. The store sits within the territory of the El Paso Police Department's Northeast Regional Command, which is based farther north on Dyer Street.
This is not the first time a vape retailer in the city has been targeted this way. KFOX reported that a Central El Paso vape shop was hit by a similar ramming burglary in July, with suspects backing a vehicle through the storefront and clearing $5,000 to $6,000 in merchandise in under 30 seconds. In December 2024, three suspects were sought in connection with an armed robbery at the Kenworthy Tobacco and Vape store that netted $15,000 in stolen merchandise and cash, as Hoodline previously reported. Vape shops tend to be attractive targets because their inventory is small, high-value, and easy to resell.
What Charges the Suspects Could Face
Under Texas Penal Code Section 30.02, burglary of a commercial building carries a state jail felony charge punishable by 180 days to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000. The $5,000 in property damage reported at the smoke shop also falls squarely within the range covered by Section 28.03, which makes intentionally damaging property worth between $2,500 and $30,000 a state jail felony for criminal mischief. Separately, driving a vehicle without the owner's consent is charged as unauthorized use of a vehicle under Section 31.07, another state jail felony, regardless of whether prosecutors can prove the suspects intended to keep the car permanently.
Anyone with information about the two men is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477 or submit a tip online at cselpaso.org. Crime Stoppers of El Paso, founded in 1978 as the first such organization in Texas, works alongside the El Paso Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, and tips submitted through the program are protected under Texas Government Code confidentiality provisions. The nonprofit reports that anonymous tips have helped lead to more than 4,450 arrests and the recovery of over $4 million in stolen property since it began.
Whether investigators can pull identifying evidence from the recovered getaway car, or whether this crew is linked to other recent smash-and-grab burglaries hitting smoke shops around the region, remains unclear. For now, police are relying on the public and the surveillance footage from the Dyer Street store to bring the case forward.
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