A group of pot burglars targeted a dispensary inside the old Parkway Theater space in Oakland, and the way they got inside involved using a Lexus SUV to slam a roll-up door.
The theft happened around 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning, as KTVU reports, and a group of seven or eight suspects entered Ivy Hill Cannabis at 1834 Park Boulevard. Surveillance video captures the SUV backing into the door — apparently not concerned with damage to the car? — which is knocked open, and multiple suspects went inside the business and stole an estimated $21,000 worth of product, according to manager Hilary O'Brien.
"They pulled up, three cars about 7 to 8 guys," O'Brien tells KTVU. "They knew what they were doing. They’ve been trying to hit us for months and we keep thwarting them with our security. They knew exactly what they were doing today. They came with a plan, and they executed it. And they breached the building and they had about 6 or 7 minutes inside."
Dispensaries across Oakland and San Francisco have been targeted for robberies on multiple occasions in the last year. KTVU describes this as a "roving caravan of thieves," similar to caravans that targeted Oakland dispensaries back in November.
"We’re not going to tolerate this type of activity within the city of Oakland," said Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong at the time. "We are going to respond."
The OPD says it is investigating the break-in at Ivy Hill.
Ivy Hill Cannabis opened at the Parkway Theater in April 2021, the first business to make use of the space on Park Boulevard since the theater stopped showing movies in 2009 — when the Parkway relocated to the Uptown neighborhood.
"We don't know how to recover from this, so we want to reach out to the community and ask for your help," the dispensary wrote on Instagram. "We kindly ask that if you're reading this that you share this post and stop by tomorrow when we open(or as soon as you can) and leave with something. Our stock is limited and we hope you can leave with something that can still make you smile."
