‘Their mission is to destroy’: video shows thieves use car to break into Commerce City dispensary
DENVER (KDVR) — The Commerce City Police Department said it has responded to four marijuana dispensary burglaries and attempted burglaries in the first week and a half of May.
The department posted a video on Facebook Friday that shows thieves using a car to break into the dispensary before stealing products inside.
Video: Thieves ram stolen car into Commerce City vape shop
It happened at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday the Stadium Gardens on Quebec Street.
According to police, this isn’t the first time the business has been hit by burglars. The first time, police said the thieves were “unsuccessful at breaching the doors.”
Police said thieves used a Kia that had no license plates on it to “smash right through the front of the building.”
Video shows the vehicle backing into the glass doors at the front of the building multiple times. Once doors were broken, the thieves entered the building and can be seen using a tool to pry open another door past the waiting area.
The Commerce City Police Department said it has responded to four marijuana dispensary burglaries and attempted burglaries in the first week and a half of May. (Commerce City Police Department) The Commerce City Police Department said it has responded to four marijuana dispensary burglaries and attempted burglaries in the first week and a half of May. (Commerce City Police Department) The Commerce City Police Department said it has responded to four marijuana dispensary burglaries and attempted burglaries in the first week and a half of May. (Commerce City Police Department)
Business owner says this wasn’t the first time
“It wasn’t very pleasant to watch for us,” said owner Rita Tsalyuk.
In the video, two suspects get out of the car, both wearing dark hoodies, one carrying a backpack.
Once inside the suspects use what appears to be a crowbar to pry open a locked security door to get past the waiting room. Minutes later they are seen taking off with marijuana products in a trash can, causing thousands of dollars in damage in the process.
“It was four men that didn’t care about the property, in fact, it felt like they wanted to damage as much as they can,” said Tsalyuk.
She told FOX31 she got the notification from her security company and arrived shortly after the suspects got away.
“Everything is kind of halfway fixed now, but when we arrived in the morning glass was all over the place. They drove in through the storefront everything was inside. All the doors since then have been repaired to some extent,” said Tsalyuk. “We just put two metal doors, they are security doors so very strong doors it took four people three minutes to open this door. Maybe that’s why they got less cannabis, but they damaged the door which is also expensive.”
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Stalyuk says this isn’t the first time her store was hit.
“This time, when you see them on camera, it feels like their mission is to destroy,” she said. “That mission is even bigger than to steal. It’s just bad.”
Right now, she is unsure of the amount of cannabis that was stolen but estimates it will cost her roughly $60,000 in repairs.
“It feels like somebody just went to your house and made a mess out of your life. This keeps happening,” she said. “The Attorney’s General Office needs to start enforcing low-level crimes. People need to start getting arrested and get punished for stealing products out of stores and trespassing on someone’s property.”
The police department said it is working with other Denver metro agencies that are investigating similar crimes to see if there is any connection.
Police are looking for the vehicle involved and the two suspects, and likely others. Anyone with information regarding the thefts is asked to call the CCPD tip line at 303-289-3626.
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