Smash-and-grab thieves outstanding after ramming car into Eagle Rock smoke shop

EAGLE ROCK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Four smash-and-grab thieves are on the run after crashing a car through the front of a smoke shop in Eagle Rock.

The incident happened around 6 a.m. Sunday, when all the businesses at the shopping center on Colorado Boulevard were closed.

Surveillance video captured the moment the one of the suspects used a black sedan to ram into the storefront of the smoke shop. It wasn't entirely successful so the car backed up and crashed into the business two more times before the burglars were able to make it inside.

They grabbed items from the tobacco shop's shelves, making several trips to load up another car they came in. They even took the cash register and tossed it in the trunk.

They left the crashed black sedan behind, still wedged in the store. The owner of the building said police told him both cars that the suspects used appeared to be stolen.

Owners of other businesses at Colorado and Eagle Rock boulevards told Eyewitness News they've never seen something like that in the area.

"We've been here for over 30 years, and this crime does not exist," said Roseanna Playo.

But a mile and a half away on Colorado Boulevard, there was a very similar incident on Friday. Authorities say someone drove a car into the front of a cannabis shop and stole items from inside.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating both smash-and-grabs, and are trying to determine whether they're related in any way.

Despite the early morning crime on Sunday, the family that owns the hair salon a few doors down from the smoke shop says, outside the occasional suspicious car parked in nearby parking lots, they still feel safe.

"It's not a bad neighborhood. You can walk by yourself, you can walk your dog, without getting harassed," Playo added.