Chicago police seek sledgehammer-wielding crew who burglarized smoke shops

3 Chicago smoke shops burglarized overnight

In Chicago, police said burglars targeted smoke shops in a crime spree overnight.

CHICAGO - Chicago police are looking for suspects who used a sledgehammer to break into smoke shops to steal merchandise and money at least five times this month.

In each incident, suspects arrive in a white KIA SUV and use a sledgehammer to break the front glass door of the business before making off with tobacco products, cannabis paraphernalia and money from registers.

The burglaries took place at businesses at the following times and locations:

At 11:02 p.m. on Sept. 12 in the 5600 block of West Roosevelt Road in Lawndale
At 12:55 a.m. on Sept. 13 in the 600 block of West Roosevelt Road in the South Loop
At 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 13 in the 2400 block of North Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square
At 2:15 a.m. on Sept. 13 in the 4800 block of West Foster Avenue in Jefferson Park
At 5:37 a.m. on Sept. 23 in the 5600 block of West Roosevelt Road in Lawndale

The suspects are described as two-to-four males wearing dark clothing with blue backpacks and black face masks.

Anyone with information on the burglaries is asked to contact Area Four detectives at (312) 746-8253.

North Lawndale South Loop Jefferson Park