Thieves use vehicles as battering rams during burglaries in San Fernando Valley
Security video shows a group of masked thieves using the bed of a pickup truck to smash into a smoke shop in Chatsworth Thursday morning.
"They are targeting any business they can get their hands on," owner George Tomua said.
Tomua said they stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and left him with thousands more in repairs. He said it was not the first time it happened to him. Angry, Tomua told the suspects to "go work hard for your money" instead of breaking into people's businesses.
Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department said they are trying to determine whether the smash-and-grab at Tomua's smoke shop was connected to another burglary at a cannabis dispensary in North Hollywood. While the North Hollywood incident happened hours after a pickup truck slammed into Tomua's store, there were a few similarities between the two alleged crimes.
In the later burglary, suspects plowed an SUV through the store, so much so that it wedged itself into the shop. Officers believe the SUV was used as a getaway vehicle from the first crime.
