HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Police are searching for a group of young crooks who they say burglarized a smoke shop in Hollywood.
It happened Tuesday afternoon at Hollywood Boulevard Smoke Shop, near the 2500 block of Hollywood Boulevard, across the street from City Hall.
Yaacov Poston, the owner of the smoke shop, told Local 10 News that he was preparing for the store’s grand opening next week when his store was burglarized by what he believes was a group of teenagers.
“A few kids, teenagers —they came (when) the place was closed,” he said. “They tried knocking down the front door and smashed the back window.”
The brazen crime was all captured on surveillance video.
Surveillance video shows the crooks appearing to plot how to get inside the business when one of the thieves spotted a metal bar.
Moments later, she was seen approaching the window and was heard saying, “I’m scared. I don’t wanna do it.”
It seemed as if the pair had a change of heart, but that was only until other teen reinforcements showed up, and a girl was seen smashing the window with the metal bar.
The girl who broke the window was then seen covering her face with a jacket and a friend appeared to assist as she crawled through the broken window and into the business.
Once inside, the burglars began emptying the shelves into bags, but their plans were thwarted when the alarm suddenly went off.
Shortly after, they hastily fled the scene, leaving behind evidence that investigators collected. They also dusted for fingerprints, police said.
Poston believes the teens swiped anywhere from five to ten thousand dollars worth of product, not including the damage done to the building.
Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the Hollywood Police Department at 954-764-4357.