CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Bars now cover the entrances of one downtown Cape Coral business after being robbed twice in one week.
"We're two doors into the week and 1000s of dollars of damage," said Todd Cynecki, a partner with Superior Hemp Dispensary.
Watch Bella's full report below:
Cape Coral Police say the Superior Hemp Dispensary was hit twice during a series of break-ins in downtown Cape Coral.
Cynecki says it has made them rethink their routine.
"Little bedroom communities like downtown Cape where you used to be able to keep your doors open and not lock your car. We've realized that times in America are changing and that we probably need to act accordingly," said Cynecki. "We spent late hours here and then just scrambling financially to restock the store. We have young staff here that needs to be confident in working here and secure."
Cynecki says they now lock up their merchandise, which they make in-store, and have added bars to the front and back entrances, both of which were broken in the two burglaries.
According to an article in the National Library of Medicine, because of the nature of the business, dispensaries are at higher risk for robbery.
"Unfortunately, the nature of our business has allowed the banking community to conveniently call us high risk, which assigns a larger rate to our deposits than other businesses get," said Cynecki. "We're hoping that that will change here in the near future."
However, he says he doesn't think his business was targeted.
Fox 4 was on the scene Monday where our crews saw a Cuban restaurant and plumbing supply store were also affected.
"He had success one night, so he came back the next and then has found out that this neighborhood, for whatever reason, has had some success for him, so he stayed around," said Cynecki. "We're supporters of other local businesses, so the negative ramifications of taking from somebody in your own community doesn't just hurt us, it hurts the whole community."
Cape Police say they are still investigating the robberies but on Tuesday they sent us these photos of a suspect:
https://www.fox4now.com/cape-coral/police-release-photos-of-cape-coral-smash-and-grab-suspects
Fox 4 will keep you up to date on their findings.
