Thieves leave car-sized hole and rob Veteran-owned Pawn and Gun shop
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO)- Another string of smash-and-grab robberies vandalized multiple Colorado Springs businesses early August 24. These latest robberies bring the total to more than 30 in 2024. These aren’t just any smash and grabs they involve thieves driving cars through the storefronts.
RELATED: Thieves leave another car-sized hole in Colorado Springs store
Security camera video shows the moment a group of masked people pulled up to Let's Make a Deal Pawn and Gun shop just before 2:45 a.m. The group drove a stolen vehicle into the storefront not once or twice, but four times to break down the metal barrier. Robbers are then seen jumping over the car to sneak inside and steal gaming consoles.
The store owner tells KRDO13 he keeps all firearms locked up at all times, which helped keep guns out of the thieves' hands. He says he's been wary about this kind of crime after seeing so many other businesses be victimized.
"Every year it gets worse and worse. They're putting small businesses out of business, basically. It's hard to recover from big damages like this if you don't have insurance," said Store Owner Timothy Arthur.
The veteran-owned family business spent their entire day cleaning up the mess left behind, which includes the car through their storefront. The wreckage left stains from the leaking car. Now the business plans to rip up their carpets as a part of the repairs.
"It's probably going to be over $30,000," Arthur estimates.
The business owner tells KRDO13 that installing concrete blockades is the next step for protecting their business. He says he hopes the thieves get caught and are brought to justice.
