Denver business owner frustrated at police response time after break-in
One Denver business owner is voicing frustration after officers took more than an hour to respond while thieves made off with thousands of dollars in merchandise during a recent burglary.
In the early morning of August 6th, 2026, Austin Martinson was woken up by the alarm company for his marijuana store, Karmaceuticals. The store was being burglarized.
He says through his investigation and conversations with Denver police, he learned the thieves had set up cameras outside the store and had been monitoring it for a while. On the night of the burglary, the thieves first tried to get through the back door. Finding it locked with state-of-the-art locks, Martinson says they moved on to plan B.
"They tried to open the front door and couldn't. We believe that they went on the roof and tried to get in through the roof or the AC, the HVAC units, which we've also had attempts there. So those are reinforced. So eventually they went through our neighbor, and I guess busted through the front window there and then busted through their wall," said Martinson.
He says thieves spent thirty to forty-five minutes in the store while alarms blared, taking plants.
"We estimate we lost roughly like $60,000," says Martinson.
He says he felt helpless watching the event unfold on security cameras, especially since DPD officers didn't show up until an hour and fifteen minutes after they got the call.
"I think it's ridiculous. I mean, an act of robbery. If they could have been there within 15 minutes, they would have found all these guys," said Martinson.
In a statement, a spokesperson for DPD said:
"I can confirm we received a call of a burglary alarm at that business on Inca St. This was reported on 8-6-2026 around 1:11 a.m. Initial information from the alarm company mentioned sensors detecting motion. Officers were assigned to the call and responded at 2:32 a.m. Upon arrival, officers discovered the rear door open and cleared the building. No one was inside. A report was completed, and the building was left secured. The investigation is ongoing, and there are no arrests at this time. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP(7867)."
They added that, "officers work their best to respond to all calls for service in a timely manner, but other factors can cause delays, such as other incidents that require immediate response."
Martinson says he's frustrated because this is the second time he's been robbed, the first time at gunpoint. He isn't sure what to do next to keep his business safe.
"Everyone's sitting here like, 'Do we just sit and just keep getting robbed and robbed and robbed?'" said Martinson.
He says the worst part is that his growers are paid partly on commission from the sale of their plants. Since the marijuana business has been down lately, he says he doesn't have the cash to pay them.
"What we've been dealing with the last few days is trying to figure out how to make sure their families have food on the table," said Martinson.
He says he will also have to invest in even more security now, and he hopes that the industry will soon be able to access the same affordable banking and insurance protections other businesses have, so they will stop being targets for thieves.
"It's super frustrating. It's still the same problems I've been screaming about since I opened in 2009," said Martinson.
