Thieves Break Into Doctor’s Office To Get To Pot Shop
Thieves broke into a doctor?s office just to get into the pot shop next door, police said.
According to Colorado Springs police, the crooks were looking to steal marijuana from Canna Caregivers, a medical marijuana center near the intersection of North Academy Boulevard. and North Carefree Circle.
?This is exactly what I’ve been expecting to happen for the last year since the marijuana shop opened,? said Dr. Scott Brassfield, who owns a medical practice next door. Brassfield?s business has been there for 23 years. The medical marijuana center has been there for less than a year.
?We got a call of a burglar alarm at a business there,? said Sgt. Randy Beall, with the Colorado Springs Police Department. It happened around 4 a.m. Sunday. Around the same time, Brassfield also got a call from his alarm service.
?We arrived on scene and they found a ladder going up to I think it was an upper level window,? said Beall. A window to Brassfield?s office has been broken out.
?They came plowing through the window, breaking some instruments and knocking the furniture over here,? said Brassfield.
Blood was smeared on some walls and door knobs. ?Somebody got cut,? said Brassfield. ?You?ll see the blood around my office from one of the robbers who was injured.?
The thieves walked down a hallway to a room that shared a wall with the medical marijuana center. According to police, the thieves used a sledgehammer to make a hole in the wall, allowing them to enter the pot shop.
Police told NEWSCHANNEL 13 the alarm went off at Canna Caregivers, too.
?As officers arrived on scene, I think it was three people (that) left the building in a hurry,? said Beall.
Police said they arrested 23-year-old James Powers and charged him with second-degree burglary.
According to law enforcement, at least two of the thieves got away. Police don?t think they had time to steal any cannabis from Canna Caregivers. However, according to Brassfield, the thieves did take some items from his office. ?I had no narcotics,” said Brassfield. “They did take some injectable medications. They took some needle syringes and Viagra.?
?They had to put bars on the windows at the marijuana distributor because there have been so many robbery attempts,? said Brassfield.
?There had been a prior attempt in the recent past,? said Beall. ?It?s (Canna Caregivers) got a pretty solid door, so this time they thought it might be easier to go through another wall of a business.?
A sheet of paper with the following statement was posted on Canna Caregivers’ front door: “Due to yet another break-in, Canna Caregivers will not be open today for repairs. All staff members are safe and unharmed. All medicine is also safe and off site. We will resume normal business hours Monday, Sept. 13, 2010. We do apologize for any inconvenience and will see you tomorrow.”
NEWSCHANNEL requested an interview with two Canna Caregivers employees who arrived at the medical marijuana center Sunday afternoon, but they refused to comment.
