DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – The search is on for a group of thieves in DeKalb County accused of a series of burglaries in Avondale Estates. Investigators say the gang of thugs rammed a stolen Kia Optima into the Hemp Haven smoke shop on College Avenue early Monday morning.
The business owner told FOX 5 it’s a big loss — not because of what they took, but because of the cost to repair it.
“I was originally quoted around $26,000, but I was able to get it down to $10,000,” Diana Padrón said. ‘Still, that’s a lot. I’m taking a hit financially.’
That financial blow came from a physical blow just after 4 a.m., when she woke up to a warning that someone had plowed their car into her business.
“It was a burglary. Some young people came into my store, there were six to nine people. There was a Kia in my store with the headlights on and still on,” Padrón recalls.
Surveillance footage from the store shows at least six people in hoodies running inside.
“They came into my store, scattered, stole the cash register, then ran away and abandoned the car,” she stated.
Avondale Estates police told FOX 5 the group left the scene in two other vehicles. They did not know that the register they took with them was empty.
“I mean, if you were a good burglar, you would notice that our glass (window) says we are a cashless facility,” Padrón said.
Although the thieves didn’t get away with it, Padrón said she is now forced to foot the bill for thousands of dollars in repairs at a time when business was not so good.
“Given that we have a structure that slows down people coming into the store, the economic downturn and hemp laws have changed,” she explained. “This is just terrible what they did to us.”
Padrón told FOX 5 the store was closed Tuesday due to rain, but will be open Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and she hopes the community will show support.
Avondale Estates police say they believe the same stolen Kia was involved in other burglaries on Monday. They are now working with the DeKalb County Police Department on the case. If you have any information, call detectives.