Englewood smoke shop says thieves broke into shop twice

A manager is less than pleased his store was stolen from twice in two different days. He says he’s worried these thieves will return.

Cheap Smokes in Englewood reported break-ins at it business to Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office recently.

Manager Kodi Higman says he’s taking things into his own hands to prevent another break-in and hopes to catch the thieves with what they left behind.

Not once but twice thieves smashed through a door to Cheap Smokes and stole from the shop.

“There’s definitely a lot of emotions at play, you know, anger,” Higman said. “You want to find the person, and then, that, you know, just fear that they might come back, you know, want to keep the employees and the customers safe, and then, you know, just, just, just that unknown.”

From the late hours of Thursday night to the early hours Friday morning, thieves were caught on surveillance taking what they wanted from Cheap Smokes.

Late Saturday night, someone went back for more.

“They didn’t come in and take a lot of things,” Higman said. “It was just, you know, a couple hundred dollars’ worth of stuff. I mean it was, why even bother again? That’s what it’s, it’s almost like that they had a shopping list. They knew exactly what they were going for.”

What thieves took won’t leave a huge dent on the business, but the money lost isn’t what upset Higman most.

“Being a small town, Englewood is not, you know, a very large town. That’s … kind of the biggest thing, just to feel like it’s somebody in our community,” Higman said.

Whoever was involved in the break-in left key evidence behind.

“They actually wound up cutting themselves trying to get in and bled all over the place,” Higman said.

Deputies have that as evidence, and Higman hopes that piece of evidence brings a group of thieves to justice.

Cheap Smokes is increasing security around the building, and Higman plans on staying past his normal hours to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

Cheap Smokes has gathered a small cash reward for individuals who share information that helps catch the thieves.