BELLINGHAM, Wash. — In Bellingham on Tuesday, it wasn’t the Grinch trying to steal Christmas — but four of them.
The thieves were caught on surveillance video breaking into a local business.
“These people don’t know what Christmas is,” says Don Hartleben, who manages ‘Dank of America’. The dispensary was broken into around five in the morning.
The thieves deserve a lump of coal, but instead, gifted themselves more than $5K worth of merchandise.
Surveillance video shows a stolen car smashing into the front of Dank of America before four masked thieves run in. The four are seen putting dozens of items into grocery sacks before running out of the shop. They’re in and out within two minutes.
Store employees called the police after they were alerted to the alarm. Hartleben says officers arrived quickly but weren’t fast enough to make arrests.
Employees are appalled by their attempt to ruin Christmas.
“It disturbed all our plans,” says Thomas Wartinger, who owns the shop. “I was home going to unwrap presents with the grandkids when this all happened.”
The damage to the store building was extensive.
“What these people don’t realize is, we are a small business. This is going to come out of our pocket. We’re not some big corporation,” says Hartleben.
Adding to his frustration, they’re not the only Bellingham business who had their holiday plans hijacked by break-ins.
A barber shop, sandwich shop, and Vietnamese restaurant also fell victim to the nightmare before Christmas.
Hartleben hopes that the community will show up to support the broken-into businesses in the new year.
“I will not let this bring my holiday down,” says Hartleben about Tuesday’s theft.
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