Vape R Us Robbed At Gunpoint. Again

By Thomas Breen, New Haven Independent

NEW HAVEN, CT — Men with guns robbed a Westville Village smoke shop twice in one week.

The first robbery took place at around 1:31 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 17.

According to a weekly neighborhood crime update sent out by top Westville cop Lt. Pedro Colon, officers responded to Vape R Us at 841 Whalley Ave. for the report of a robbery.

The victim stated that he was approached by three men as he was closing the store. “One of the males had a TEK-9 style pistol.”

The men stole “over 40 vapes (Approximate value $3,000), $700 worth of tobacco, $2,000 in cash from the register and the victim’s iPhone valued at $900. This incident was captured on video surveillance.”

The second robbery took place at around 12:55 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 24.

City police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart told the Independent that two suspects exited a vehicle after Vape R Us had closed.

They brandished a handgun, demanded the register, and made off with $180 and rolling papers.

These mark the second and third robberies thus far this year at Vape R Us. Bruckhart said that the store was also robbed on Aug. 31 at 8:28 p.m.

Bruckhart added that no one has yet been arrested in connection with these three robberies, though police are still investigating.

The smoke shop’s manager, Asad Alsaidi, told the Independent on Monday that he was present at the time of the Nov. 17 and Nov. 24 robberies. He showed this reporter videos of masked men pointing guns at his employees as they robbed the store on those dates.

Alsaidi said he thinks that his store has been targeted by people who think that Vape R Us still sells cannabis — which it stopped doing after a series of high-profile police raids. (While the state does allow recreational adult-use cannabis sales at permitted locations, Vape R Us does not have the requisite license to sell cannabis.)

Alsaidi said he has subsequently moved up the closing time for Vape R Us from 1 a.m. to 12 a.m., to protect himself, his employees, and the store. He also marveled at masked men with guns robbing a store in the same city that has one of the most prestigious universities in the world. He said these two robberies feel more like something that would take place in Afghanistan than the in United States.

Alsaidi also pointed with pride to all of the local and state licenses and permits posted on the wall next to the store’s Plexiglas-protected checkout area.

Those include a Tobacco and Smoking Products Retail License signed by the city’s health director, a Department of Revenue Services (DRS) tax permit signed by the DRS commissioner, a “Dealer of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System or Vapor Product” permit signed by the state Department of Consumer Protection commissioner, a cigarette license signed by the DRS commissioner, and a tobacco products license signed by the DRS commissioner.

“I’m trying to work with the city,” Alsaidi said, to make sure his business is successful.

Update: Reached for comment on Tuesday morning, Lt. Colon said that he has been working closely with the police department’s Robbery and Burglary Unit to try to identify suspects in these cases.

“People just know that there’s cash there, there’s tobacco,” and they’re open very late, Colon said about Vape R Us. “They’re a target there.” He said he thinks the business should close even earlier than midnight, and said that it’s late hours likely contribute to making it a target for people who appear to be “lying in wait.”

The New Haven Independent is a not-for-profit public-interest daily news site founded in 2005.