Thief breaks in and loads up on goods from vape shop

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) -A business on West Grace Street is forced to close for several days following an early morning break-in. A thief reportedly loaded up their pockets with merchandise from Driply Vapes before running off with the goods.

The shop was broken into Saturday morning around 6:50 am. Vape shop owner Scott Waters said two more shops in the area were also broken into. Security camera footage shows the moment the thief broke glass to get into the store.

“They threw a brick into the window and stole all of my cigarettes and then stole all of my cigarettes and disposable vapes,” Waters explained.

With all the damage he has to clean up, Scott now has to miss out on several business days.

“I’m probably not going to get it repaired until Tuesday or Wednesday but just replacing the glass...I’m also going to have to close because he basically stole everything that I sell,” he stated.

He said this isn’t the first time his shop has been broken into. Just a few months ago one of his employees was robbed at gunpoint and last year he had another break-in. He even installed an electromagnetic lock after the first break-in for extra security but that just ended up getting broken the second time someone robbed his shop.

“I’ve been in business for 7 years and nothing has ever happened like this before in the last seven years,” he said.

He’s now considering moving his shop to another location so he doesn’t have to deal with this again.

“I’m coming up at the end of my lease and with this area changing as drastically as it has I’m probably just not gonna renew and I’m probably not going to continue to do business in the city you know I’ll find somewhere else that is less dangerous at this point,” he explained.

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