Thieves smash vehicle into store, get away with cash and cigarettes

(8/05/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- Thieves went to the extreme to get inside a convenience store in southwest Houston Saturday. They crashed their car into it! Now, the owner has to deal with a mess.

"We might not know who do it," said Tina Roberts, a regular customer of Waddell's food store. "But God knows who the person is, too."

Roberts likes the people and the location of the store, and feels comfortable sending her kids.

"My children stay in the store," she said. "They come all the time to buy their little snacks."

But now, Waddell's is a changed place. The front glass is shattered and the damage obvious after someone drove a vehicle through the entrance. Metal is twisted and some of the stock is scattered on the floor.

"They bring a big truck, something like that," said store owner Gan Baloch. "They hit this door and came inside and took some money and cigarettes."

Baloch can't believe it. This kind of damage was done for $400 cash, some loose change, and all the Newports in the store. He didn't even know the store was damaged until he arrived around 7am to find police waiting nearby.

"Alarm company didn't call me. Nobody called me," he said. "So it happened in between 5am to 6am."

At last report, police were reviewing security video, but with no witnesses, this could be a tough case to crack. Neighbors say despite all this, they live in a tight knit community.

"There are some good people in the neighborhood," customer Cecil Davis told us. "They help everybody out. That's all I can say."

Gan Baloch could use a little help cleaning up, but he's happy no one was hurt. For now, he'll wait for repairs and hopefully some news on who would do this for a little cash and a few smokes.
(Copyright © 2006, KTRK-TV)

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