Trio of Business Owners Suffer Major Losses After Coordinated Store Burglaries

Three business owners are out thousands of dollars after thieves broke into all of their stores located in a strip mall near 31st and Yale. They got inside by shattering glass doors and cutting through the walls that connect each of the stores.

Thieves started by smashing the glass door of Bill and Ruth’s restaurant. Once inside, they pulled back a condiment stand and started kicking through the wall leading to Ezy’s House of Dank dispensary.

“They knew what they were doing,” said Melissa Winn, an employee with the dispensary. “They’re not newbies. This was orchestrated. We know they’ve been in our businesses. We know that they’ve been casing the joint out, so this is not something that is random.”

Winn estimates thousands of dollars in product was stolen. She says the thieves disconnected the cameras after breaking through the wall.

The crime spree didn’t end there. Winn says the thieves went into an office and sawed through another wall, which leads to Cloud Chaserz vape shop.

“He destroyed all stuff here and he took stuff,” said Jawad Malik, owner of the shop.

Malik says power was knocked out to the buildings because of all the damage. He says the store’s cameras were destroyed and the thieves also got away with lots of merchandise.

A burglary of this magnitude took a toll on his small business.

“We were closed for two days,” said Malik. “It hurts us. It hurts our employees. Especially in this economy, it’s just really bad right now.”

Both store owners say the businesses are their livelihood. They are hopeful someone knows something that can lead to finding the people responsible.

Anyone with information on the burglaries can call Crime Stoppers at (918) 596-COPS.