Multiple juveniles in stolen vehicles rammed into a Federal Way business and burglarized it for thousands of dollars worth of vaping products.
At about 4 a.m. April 18 at Beverage and Smoke Shop in the 2100 block of SW 336th Street in Federal Way, police believe juveniles in a stolen Kia backed into the business at a high rate of speed and shattered the glass looking into the storefront. The impact caused thousands of dollars worth of damage and shifted the entire front counter.
Two months later, the owner, Eric Leland, said they still had not caught the suspects.
Officers believe one juvenile involved in multiple other smoke shop break-ins, in which he then sells the stolen products on Instagram. Leland said he hopes insurance covers the building’s damages, but he’s really just frustrated, and he feels like the whole incident is unfortunate.
“I hope that people don’t feel the need to break into businesses. I hope that more of the wealth is spread around, and then they text Jeff Bezos. How about that?” Leland said. “I just want to get this out of my head. I just want it to be taken care of. I won’t get the money back, even if they prosecute the kid.”
The police report from the incident said that while an officer was driving to the business, responding to a burglary alarm, he saw a dark-colored sedan driving past him at a high rate of speed. When he arrived on the scene, he observed that the Beverage and Smoke Shop business had been rammed into by a vehicle.
The officer also observed a white 2014 Kia Optima with an Oregon license plate parked in front of the beverage and smoke shop business, according to the police report. The officer said in the report that the Kia appeared to have significant rear damage. The officer said he then cleared the business for suspects and noticed that the store was in disarray, and it appeared as if items had been missing.
The report said that the officer contacted the business keyholder, who provided the officers with footage of the incident. Officers said they observed that at about 3:53 a.m., an unlicensed dark-colored Kia Sedan and the white 2014 Kia Optima reversed in front of the business. The white Kia then reversed into the business, ramming through the front entrance. Following that, two suspects exited from the dark-colored Kia and entered the store.
Officers said the driver of the dark-colored Kia sedan was a female, and after the white Kia rammed through the business, two males exited the dark-colored Kia, and one male exited the white Kia.
Footage from the incident then shows the males entering the store with their faces covered and carrying tote bags. They filled the bags with vape and other tobacco products, but mostly disposable vape devices. The report said that officers believed there was sufficient evidence to find probable cause for second-degree burglary.
A student resource officer for Federal Way High School said that he recognized one of the males in the video. He identified him as a 16-year-old whom he anticipated would enroll at Decatur High School, but it appeared as if he was no longer attending school. The officer said the juvenile was suspected of being involved in multiple smoke shop burglaries carried out in a similar style in cities ranging from Olympia to Monroe.
The officer who recognized the juvenile said he had been following his activity on Instagram since May 2023, and often saw photos of the juvenile alongside firearms and Kias. The officer said the juvenile would also frequently post large amounts of new in-box vapes in succession, which appear to be him advertising them for sale.
Videos retrieved from a public records request associated with the April 18 burglary show posts from the juvenile’s Instagram, and in one photo, the juvenile posted a video of around 60 disposable vape devices with the caption, “Limited time get at me.” In another video from the juvenile’s Instagram, around 70-plus disposable vapes were shown in a video with no caption.
Upon discovering the connection, officers searched a few areas associated with the juvenile to find the dark-colored sedan, but neither the juvenile nor the vehicle were located.
Screenshot from inside Beverage and Smoke Shop after juveniles rammed into the front of the business and then entered. Photo from Federal Way Police Department Public Records
Inside Beverage and Smoke Shop. Photo from Federal Way Police Department Public Records
A close up inside Beverage and Smoke Shop. Photo from Federal Way Police Department Public Records
