Colorado vape shop victim of repeated burglaries involving cars crashing into building
A small business in Colorado has been repeatedly targeted by burglars crashing into the building.
Security cameras captured suspects ramming a vehicle into the front of Purple Greens Vape and Glass in Centennial just before 4 a.m. Sunday. The thieves proceeded to steal an estimated $10,000 worth of items from the shop.
If that wasn't bad enough, the same location was the victim of a nearly identical burglary in April of last year, and again in November. Within 48 hours of the final touches being put on the window repair from the damage sustained in the November break-in, the thieves struck again.
"I do believe it's the same people," said Purple Greens Vape and Glass owner Kelly Morse. "They know what they're doing, they have a timeline, they do the same routine every time. They grab your trash cans, they grab the bucket, they start throwing everything in."
Morse woke early Sunday morning to a phone call saying his Centennial store had been burglarized again.
"I was just immediately in shock, like no way, no way," Morse said.
He called HR manager Jenniffer Roderick.
"Not again," Roderick said. "It gets harder and harder every time. It makes it harder and harder to just keep going on."
The small team spent the morning cleaning up broken glass and taking inventory of stolen items.
"We have a number of products that they targeted last night," Morse said.
"We're a very close-knit family. Everybody calls me Mama Bear. If there's ever a problem, we've got each other's backs," Roderick said.
They said recovering after the thefts is a routine they've become used to.
"It's mentally draining at this point. It's PTSD. Going to bed at night, you're terrified what you're gonna wake up to every single night," Morse said.
Morse says his six stores have been broken into more times than he can count in the last year. A different location was the victim of an armed robbery, with employees being held up at gunpoint. Their security has stopped countless other theft attempts.
"If I had a running total of everything, it's over $100,000," Morse said.
Despite hiring an armed security patrol and taking other precautions, the stores continue to be targeted.
"I've done anything and everything at this point that I feel that I can," Morse said. "We have armed security that will actually sit in front of the stores all night. However, with any job, they have to take a break here and there, and if somebody's watching, that's their moment and they go for it."
After the last incident at this store, the store was dropped by their insurance.
"Do I file a claim on this new incident, or do I eat the money and try to recover? The insurance is gonna drop me if I file a claim. What do I do?" Morse said.
In addition to lost merchandise, Morse estimates the damage to the shop from the latest incident is more than $15,000. Roderick says the financial loss will impact prices and the ability of the store to hire staff and offer overtime.
The small business fears they may have to close their doors if the break-ins continue.
"It hurts. You want to cry, you want to scream, you want to punch a wall," Roderick said. "To lash out at small businesses when we struggle as it is, you know, it's hard. It's like stealing from your neighbors because that's exactly what these kids are doing."
"To have somebody just trying to make a living, which is what we're all trying to do, and people just want to take it," Morse said. "It's just, it's so defeating."
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office is actively investigating the burglaries but has no suspect description to release at this time. They say of the two cars involved in this incident, one was stolen and one was missing plates.
