A group of thieves used a pickup truck as a battering ram to break into a tobacco shop in Chatsworth on Thursday and loot the store.
The brazen crime occurred at about 1:30 a.m. in the 21700 block of Devonshire Street, where the suspects drove a stolen white truck into the front of the store, Los Angeles Police Department officer Drake Madison told City News Service.
Surveillance video showed the truck smashing through a metal security gate, after which several men in hoodies raided the store and took merchandise before quickly fleeing in a white SUV parked in front of the store, abandoning the truck.
There was also an attempted break-in at a tobacco shop in North Hollywood early Thursday. The burglars, who targeted the store on the corner of Burbank Boulevard and Cartwright Avenue, used an allegedly stolen SUV, but were unsuccessful and abandoned the SUV and fled, Fox11 reports.
Madison said the stolen vehicle was impounded and it was not immediately clear what was stolen. It was not immediately clear if the same burglars who robbed the Chatsworth store also tried to rob the North Hollywood store.
The owner of Smoke City told ABC7 that the store was broken into three weeks ago when thieves stole about $30,000 worth of cash and merchandise. The man, who owns several stores, told ABC7 that he has installed better security measures, including metal doors with double deadbolts, bulletproof glass and roll-up doors.
It was unclear how much merchandise was stolen Thursday, but he estimated it could be about $3,000, and he expects the recent damage to cost him about another $30,000.
