Wednesday, February 19, 2025

4 minors charged in attempted break-ins of vape, tobacco shops

The WPD are investigating an attempted break-in that took place around 3:40 a.m. on Nov. 5 at an EZ Pass Tobacco and Vape. The person did not enter the building and fled before officers arrived. (Port City Daily/File)

WILMINGTON — A group of juveniles have been apprehended in an array of breaking-and-entering attempts at area vape and tobacco shops, according to Wilmington Police Department.

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The WPD are investigating an attempted break-in that took place around 3:40 a.m. on Nov. 5. According to police, officers responded to the 1900 block of Eastwood Road and saw someone had thrown a rock to try at the glass of an EZ Pass Tobacco and Vape. The person did not enter the building and fled before officers arrived.

Similar crimes had taken place in other vape shops in town, including on Oleander Drive and Wrightsville Avenue, according to WPD.

“A perimeter was set up in the 5900 block of Wrightsville Avenue after three subjects wearing masks fled when they spotted patrol vehicles,” the release noted.

With the help of a K-9 unit, one 14-year-old male suspect was found and three more suspects were identified. Officers investigating the incident learned the perpetrators had been riding E-bikes during the crimes and to escape authorities. All four suspects have been charged with attempted breaking and entering.

WPD continue to investigate the Eastwood Road crime and ask anyone with information to call (910) 343-3609 or use the anonymous Tip 411 app.


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Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

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