Nebraska City Seeing Spike in Vape Shop Robberies

Nebraska has seen a spike in vape shop robberies recently as thieves target CBD and Delta-8 THC products. On July 10, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Between 2 and 5 a.m., the Lincoln Police Department (LPD) responded to reports and alarms at two businesses — Cloud 9 Smoke Shop and CBD Remedies — where officers found shattered storefront glass at both locations, according to Officer Luke Bonkiewicz.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that in both cases, burglars gained entry into the businesses — after causing $500 in damage to each storefront, Bonkiewicz said — and made off with product from inside the shops. The owner of Cloud 9, near 11th and F streets, is still conducting inventory to determine what exactly burglars took. The same is true at CBD Remedies, near Normal Boulevard and South 48th Street, where burglars set off an alarm upon entry at 4:48 a.m. Friday.

The pair of break-ins comes two days after another similar burglary, totaling three in as many days. LPD discovered a broken window at Generation V E-Cigarettes and Vape Bar around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, where the owner of the business near Holdrege Street and North Cotner Boulevard reported a preliminary loss of $2,000, Officer Erin Spilker said.

The latest three break-ins follow at least two others in recent months that seem to align with those investigated this week. But the uptick that seems to involve the same group of burglars could date further back than this calendar year.

Timothy Goodman, a manager at the Lincoln Vapor location hit by burglars in May, said that break-in was just the latest in a string of six incidents in the last year or more. Goodman said it’s his understanding that every break-in can be linked to the same group.

Goodman, who has worked at Lincoln Vapor for nearly four years, said a group of burglars stole $2,000-$3,000 worth of merchandise in May and have lifted around $16,000 in products from the business in the last year and a half. The majority of products were hardware and cannabis products such as CBD and Delta-8 THC. “It’s frustrating beyond belief,” Goodman said. “I wake up most nights in the middle of the night and check the cameras to make sure nobody got in.”