Suspects rammed a truck into three stores at a Federal Way business park on Friday night, making entry and burglarizing at least one of the stores.

Around 9:45 p.m. Sept. 30, Federal Way Police responded to the area of 9th Avenue South at the Fikes Products location after a warehouse motion detection and alarm went off, according to police reports.

The damage appeared to be from a vehicle attempting to gain access to the building by ramming into a warehouse door.

As multiple officers responded, they learned two other nearby stores — Precision Garage Doors and DJ Trophy, Awards & Engraving — had also been hit. The incidents appear to be related, according to Federal Way police records. A K-9 unit cleared each of the buildings without incident; the suspects did not make entry into Fikes or Precision Doors.

Just before 9:50 p.m., manager Michelle Hoagland was double checking on the DJ Trophy, Awards & Engraving store to make sure she locked the front door.

“I never thought this would happen,” Hoagland said, adding that the family stayed until 3 a.m. the following morning to clean up their shop. “… I think I was in shock.”

She arrived to the aftermath. The store’s front door, front wall and windows were knocked inward, and inside, a shelf displaying dozens of awards and trophies was toppled. Shattered glass, splinters of wood and other wreckage surrounded the hole left in the storefront.

The suspects then stole a laptop, several apparel items, cash and an engraving machine before fleeing the scene. While still working through the insurance process, the repairs are estimated to be over $20,000, Hoagland said.

DJ Trophy, owned by Jan and Dale Pool, started in 1986 in their garage. With a few years of growing success, the company moved to a location along Pacific Highway South in Federal Way. After 34 year, they recently moved to the new, bigger Federal Way business park location along 9th Avenue South in hopes of finding better safety earlier this year.

Now, the family owned and operated business with a small staff feels a sense of uneasiness and lack of safety.

“We had just gotten over COVID-19 [impacts], business was growing, and we have another bomb hit on us,” she said, pointing at the now-boarded up front wall on Oct. 4. Hoagland said she is disappointed in local politicians and the new laws which hinder the police department’s ability to protect their communities.

“If they’re [the suspects] going to do this, they should be responsible for getting a job and paying back the expenses that now have to come out of our pockets,” she said.

The suspect vehicle, a dark blue Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck, was captured fleeing on Safe City cameras. Police are investigating.

The front entrance to DJ Trophy, Awards & Engraving is heavily damaged after a suspect rammed a truck into the building and stole several items on Sept. 30. Federal Way Police photo