Video: Cannabis dispensary ransacked in San Francisco Sunset District smash-and-grab
A cannabis dispensary in San Francisco was ransacked overnight Tuesday in a burglary that involved a vehicle smashing into the front of the building, causing significant damage.
Security camera footage of the incident showed at least five burglars emerging from two vehicles at 4:48 a.m. Tuesday in front of Cannabis Cultures dispensary at 2715 Judah Street in the city's Sunset District.
The burglars are seen attaching a chain from the back of an SUV to the metal security gate and yanking it free. The vehicle is then seen ramming through the store's rollup metal door and into the front lobby; the burglars are then seen ransacking the store, filling plastic trash bags with products and merchandise.
Surveillance video additionally showed a witness across the street, who was recording video of what was happening. Video also showed that around two minutes before the incident occurred, a police car was driving along the same street.
Store manager Alex Moorhouse said the break-in was the fourth in just the last three months and the most destructive. He did not have an immediate assessment of the damage or the amount of merchandise stolen.
"This is by far the worst," Moorhouse told CBS News Bay Area.
Instead of opening the dispensary doors to customers Tuesday morning, Moorhouse was picking up broken glass and trying to figure out what was stolen.
"It hurts my heart honestly to watch it. Like, I spend 80% of my week at this store trying to make sure it's nice and clean and presentable," Moorhouse said. "I think there's a big stigma that people think cannabis means dollar signs for everyone else. But we are just a specialty retailer. We're trying to make it like everyone else."
He said the industry has been struggling as it is, and even with insurance, their shop will have to make up for all the repairs.
Customers and neighbors near the dispensary said they were heartbroken to see the damages.
"This is a very decent neighborhood, but if you have property, people are going to violate it," neighbor Derek Cee told CBS News Bay Area.
Despite the break-ins, Moorhouse said he receives plenty of support from his neighbors and vowed that even with the massive damage to the front of his store, he would be back in business this week, if not by the end of the day Tuesday.
"They're happy we're here, they want us to make it, they understand some of the struggles we're going through, and so I can really appreciate our neighbors feeling some of the same things we're feeling," said Moorhouse.
A GoFundMe page set up to help rebuild the dispensary. Moorhouse said he learned of another cannabis dispensary that was also hit overnight in the city, but did not specify where.
San Francisco police were alerted and took a report from Moorhouse, he said. Police had no statement available on the burglary.
Sooji Nam contributed to this story.