Police are investigating the break-in and burglary of a cigar store in Morgan Hill in which the suspects used a vehicle to force open a security gate, and made off with thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes, authorities said.
About 4:13am Oct. 19, two stolen vehicles—a black Jeep Cherokee and a silver Infiniti—drove into the parking lot of Cigarland, located at 17020 Condit Road, according to Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Scott Purvis. Within seconds, the Jeep backed up to the main door of the shop, and a male suspect forced open the front doors with a pry tool.
After the doors were open, a second suspect attached a chain to the Jeep and the interior security gate, and pulled the gate open by accelerating the Jeep forward, police said.
With the gate removed, three suspects entered the business and stole about $30,000 worth of cigarettes, Purvis said. Nothing else was stolen or damaged inside the store.
Police think a total of four suspects were involved in the burglary, Purvis said. Investigators do not have any active leads into the suspects’ identities or whereabouts.
Cigarland owner Zjay Zayyat said he was awoken moments after the burglary started by a phone call from his alarm company. He quickly turned on the security camera feed on his phone and watched footage of the crime.
Zayyat thinks the suspects had been inside the store previously, as they seemed to know the layout as they moved quickly to take targeted items. They entered his office after breaking the door and gate down, and only stole cigarettes, “the most expensive thing we have.”
However, he said he doesn’t recognize the suspects, whose faces were not visible in the footage that Zayyat showed to this newspaper.
He added that the burglars appeared to be “professionals” who “divided the work.” The security video shows one of the suspects prying open the door, while a second one waited behind them with a chain to wrap around the interior gate.
“They took their time” breaking the doors open, but picked up their pace once they were inside. They were gone in just over four minutes after they broke the doors down, Zayyat added.
Zayyat owns two other Cigarland stores in Morgan Hill, where he has been a resident since 2005. By Oct. 24, the glass storefront on Condit Road had been repaired, but the interior metal gate had not been replaced.
On a brighter note, Zayyat said he has been “overwhelmed” with support from the community following the burglary, which has been the subject of numerous news reports and social media posts that have been met with mostly positive, caring comments.
“We’ve had a lot of love from the community,” Zayyat said.
Anyone with information about this incident can call MHPD at 408.779.2101.
