Norwalk smash-and-grab suspects caught on camera
The video shows a white BMW SUV pull up just at 1:23 a.m. Three people get out, including the driver, who brings a large rock with him and hurls it at the door, smashing the glass and setting off the alarm.
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Clever Smoke Shop in Norwalk opened just two months ago, but the new business has already had to deal with what's becoming a familiar problem to police—brazen smash-and-grab break-ins.
Owner Nilesh Patel has several security cameras which captured it all early Friday morning. The video shows a white BMW SUV pull up just at 1:23 a.m. Three people get out, including the driver, who brings a large rock with him and hurls it at the door, smashing the glass and setting off the alarm. The suspects go inside with one heading to the register and the others scanning the shelves. They're in and out in under 30 seconds.
“It’s crazy,” Patel said.
Patel was home asleep when he was alerted to the alarm going off. He arrived on scene to find Norwalk police already there. The door was shattered, and glass was everywhere.
“I'm very scared—me, my wife, and my daughter. And my wife, she's pregnant like five months,” Patel stated.
Even so, Patel said he slept in the store overnight in case anyone else tried to take advantage of the broken door. He told News 12 the thieves got away with $500 cash and a few hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise. On top of that, it cost him over $3000 to fix the door.
Police are investigating. Patel said he wanted to share the video and his story in hopes it helps lead to arrests.
