SEATTLE — A Seattle pot shop owned by a local basketball star was targeted in a crash-and-grab burglary early Wednesday morning.
The Kemp’s Cannabis location in Belltown was broken into around 3:16 a.m. Wednesday, co-owner Tran Du confirmed to KING 5.
The suspects appear to have used a familiar tactic, using a stolen vehicle to smash into the entrance of the pot shop, allowing the thieves to break in quickly. Surveillance video shows at least nine suspects went into the store and made off with numerous vape products, using what appears to be trash bags to accumulate the merchandise.
When they heard sirens, the suspects drove off, according to Du. Police arrived and initially used a PA system to try and get the suspects to come out, but they appeared to have already fled the scene
Tran Du, co-owner of the business, said up to $25,000 in damage may have been done.
“It’s not going to discourage me from continuing … It still highlights that there are still weaknesses,” he said. “We thought we had cover them all, but there’s a still a few more weaknesses that we need to cover and we just learn from what happened.”
The burglary comes just over a month after a Kemp’s Cannabis location in SODO was targeted in a burglary. In that break-in, a suspect used a “Jaws of Life” device to pry open the establishment’s doors.
The stores are named after former Seattle Supersonics star Shawn Kemp.
