WOODINVILLE, Wash. — The staff of a locally owned small business spent their weekend cleaning up broken glass after yet another smash-and-grab robbery in which suspects used a stolen Kia to gain access.
This time, however, the crime occurred in a King County community known for its relatively low crime rate: Woodinville.
King County Sheriff’s deputies told KING 5 a car was stolen in Kirkland over the weekend, and that hours later, "several suspects" used it to reverse into the glass storefront of Leaf Life Smoke Shop in downtown Woodinville on NE 175th St.
Sheriff’s deputies said the burglary happened just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Leaf Life sells a wide selection of vapes, bongs, and other smoking accessories.
“They just started loading up on all the vapes they could get," said Spencer Cottle, a store employee. From the body language I saw, I believed they thought this was a cannabis shop. I had to spend like the entire first three hours of my shift taking glass out of candles and incense."
A regular customer of the shop called the incident "a heartbreaker," noting the small business will now face thousands of dollars in repairs.
“I have a friend who works here, and I just hate to see small businesses like this get hurt,” said Cameron Ridley, a shop regular.
This type of crime has become common in Washington, with suspects sometimes referred to as "Kia Boys." In 2023, a "Kia Boyz" challenge on social media featured tutorials on exactly how to steal the cars.
"My previous job, A Greener Today, this happened," Cottle said. "The same thing happened,
Unlike Leaf Life, A Greener Today is a store that sells cannabis. Cottle worked at the Bothell location.
Public data showed only three other burglaries have occurred in the city of Woodinville this year.
“I just wouldn’t expect something like this to happen here,” said Ava Dinkel, a customer from Woodinville.
At this time, deputies are not able to confirm whether the suspects are minors or adults.
In the meantime, Dinkel and Ridley expressed concerns about the direction Woodinville is heading in.
"It's just stressful, because I live in the area, and I recently had my cars broken into," Ridley said. "It's kind of scary. I've lived here for a long time, and I've never really dealt with this kind of stuff."
If you have any tips that could help investigators, you’re urged to contact the King County Sheriff’s Office's Communication Center at (206) 296-3311, and reference case #C24041647.