RENTON, Wash. — A Renton vape shop is recovering after two break-ins in just two days. Elusive Vape Shop is now left with thousands of dollars worth of damages.
“Clean up, build a wall, try to get things back together. Like, still a devastating loss, things like that. And then get everything together and think you’re good to go,” said Elusive Vape Shop owner Resa Talarico.
She is still in shock after a car rammed through the storefront around 3:15 a.m. on Saturday.
Surveillance video shows a group of burglars making a run toward the business and breaking in. They took the cash register and credit card machine inside.
“It’s not just destroying a business but you guys are destroying people. People’s lives, families,” said Talarico.
After spending the day boarding up the shop, she got another call.
“Then another call on Sunday morning at 1:15 a.m., that it happens again,” she explained. “We had only had a couple hours of sleep, to get that too. So, that was another thing, like, ‘No, no you’ve gotta be kidding me.’”
Then, not even 24 hours later, another car slams through the shop.
The car is seen taking down the plywood that had just been put up. Five masked people can be seen ransacking the place, leaving it in shambles.
Talarico says they got away with more than $15,000 worth of products.
“In disbelief and kind of just disgusted with people, too,” she said. “We’ve all come from somewhere, we’ve all to take time to build something. And then to have somebody keep pushing you down and pushing you down.”
Talarico says a family member stayed in front of the shop to keep watch after police left. It didn’t end there. She says another group of Kias pulled up and surrounded him. This time, the family member was able to scare them off.
Back in May, KIRO 7 was there when Elusive’s Puyallup location was broken into as well. Their Spanaway shop also fell victim twice in the past.
Now Renton is added to the break-in list. In fact, they’ve been victimized so many times, the business says their insurance has dropped their coverage.
Talarico tells us it still won’t stop the family business from running.
“You get discouraged but we’re a pretty strong group. We kind of say our family, when we get together, we’re kind of like strength in numbers and we’re warriors,” she said.
They say it costs $26,000 out of pocket to clean up each time. But despite all of this happening, they say they’re open for business.
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