Local

North Sound pot shops start anti-crime partnership after recent burglaries

LYNNWOOD, Wash. — At least four marijuana stores in the North Sound have been burglarized since the start of the year, and that has shop owners being proactive to keep crooks at bay.

On Jan. 10, surveillance video recorded a man breaking into Kushman’s in Lynnwood, cracking open the safe and hauling away several cashier tills.

“These guys obviously don’t care about being seen or being caught on camera,” said Kushman’s spokesman Josh Estes, as he reviewed the video.

The burglar dropped his mask in the parking lot and didn’t even seem to care.

“Right there, he drops his mask, walks right up to the door, and takes a look at the camera without the mask,” said Estes.

Three other North Sound pot shops have also been recently hit by thieves.

As a result, Kushman’s is one of several pot shops that are now involved in an anti-crime partnership.

Should future burglaries or robberies happen, participating stores will immediately share information with one another in real time.

“At the end of the day, yeah, we sell competing products, but we care about one another, we care about our employees, and we care about the public,” said Estes.

Meanwhile, employees like Kushman’s Brandon Smith are prepared should something happen.

“We have the panic buttons here. It’s kind of like a ‘Life Alert’ button. You just press it down for three seconds and the cops will be here in less than two minutes,” said Smith.

Kushman’s is offering a $2,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest in the Jan. 10 burglary.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re fortunate and we’re lucky that no one was harmed, but that might not be the case next time,” said Estes.