3 teens arrested after Tempe smoke shop smash-and-grab with stolen car

TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) — Three teens have been arrested after police say they used a stolen car to smash into the front windows of a Tempe smoke shop earlier this month, where one of them stole vapes.

Authorities announced Friday that a 14, 15, and 16-year-old are facing charges over the early morning robbery at Up in Smoke Shop, near Baseline Road and Mill Avenue, on Nov. 2.

Police said the teens used a stolen red Kia sedan to ram into the store’s entrance to steal thousands of dollars’ worth of vapes. Detectives estimated about $30,000 in losses.

“You never really think it’s gonna happen to you,” said Fadi Sayed, the shop owner.

According to investigators, on that morning, the 16-year-old rammed the car before getting out, grabbing a cooler and filling it with products before running out into a different stolen car, a black Kia, that reportedly was in the same lot and driven by another teen.

Police said only the 16-year-old is facing a burglary charge, but all three are facing at least one car theft charge.

“We worked hard to build a store and it just kind of sucks to see the store get destroyed like that,” Sayed said. “It’s very reckless behavior.”

All three teens are being processed in juvenile court, police said. Their names haven’t been released.

Casey Torres contributed to this report.

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