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CASE 158  |  Smoke Shop  |  May 26, 2023  |  USA
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DATABASE RECORD
  id                  158
  date                May 26, 2023
  original_date       May 26, 2023
  year                2023
  month               5
  quarter             2023-Q2
  victim              Smoke Shop
  location            Houston, Texas
  country             USA
  scenario            Armed Robbery in Public Space
  description         7 men arrested after ramming store with stolen truck in failed attempt to steal Bitcoin ATM.
  kidnappings         0
  violence_torture    0
  drugs_alcohol       0
  weapons             0
  theft               1
  life_taken          0
  money_wanted        (null)
  coin_type           Bitcoin ATM
  reports             ABC13, YT, Protos
  notes               they stole a truck and used it to crash into the shop. items were stolen but there couldn't steal the Bitcoin ATM
  has_processed_date  1
  created_at          2025-11-13 05:44:45

AI SUMMARY  [generated at bulk import, NOT verified against sources]
  **Victim:** Smoke Shop
  
  **Attackers:** Unknown number of perpetrators
  
  **Attack Method:** Armed Robbery in Public Space
  
  **Violence Used:** Threats/intimidation
  
  **Crypto Stolen:** Undisclosed amount of Bitcoin ATM
  
  **Status:** Arrests made

LINKED SOURCES
  [url]  https://abc13.com/post/smash-and-grab-robbery-smokies-smoke-shop-truck-crashes-into-beechnut-store-crash/13302865/

NOTES ON THIS FILE
  * matched to sheet row 159: exact match on victim + year, unique on both sides

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ARTICLE 1
  Source   ABC13, YT, Protos
  URL      https://abc13.com/post/smash-and-grab-robbery-smokies-smoke-shop-truck-crashes-into-beechnut-store-crash/13302865/
  Origin   reported_K&R sheet, row 159, column "Articles"
  Length   2,239 chars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 suspects crashed stolen truck into SW Houston smoke shop in attempt to steal Bitcoin ATM, HPD says
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Seven people are in custody after a group tried to steal an ATM in an attempted smash-and-grab at a smoke shop in southwest Houston Friday morning, according to police.
Houston police said the group used a stolen truck to crash into Smokie's Smoke Shop just before 5 a.m. in the 15000 block of Beechnut Street.
Surveillance video from the shop shows the moment the truck, which was driving in reverse, crashed into the front of the store, shattering all of the glass and causing heavy damage. Then, several people jumped out of the truck and went inside the store.
SkyEye video from above the shop shows the entire front of the store wide open and the doors knocked down.
The owner of the shop told ABC13 several items were stolen, and thieves have targeted her store three or four times in the past.
HPD said it appeared that the suspects were trying to take a Bitcoin ATM, but were not successful.
The shop owner got an alert from her security system and saw what happened from her cameras. She rushed to the business and was devastated to see the damage.
"Please put in the jail, these crazy people. They are not safe. Because they do this almost three or four times. We do hard work and they just do a minute and mess up all things," Fehmida Ali said.
The owner of the stolen truck used in the attempted robbery showed up to the scene after getting a call from HPD. He told ABC13 his truck was stolen on Thursday from an apartment complex off Gessner and Bellaire.
The man said he does home renovation and all of his tools were stolen from the truck. He's upset that his truck was damaged, but thankful it's still drivable.
"They took everything from me. I don't have work right now and I have to look for a job," the truck owner said in Spanish.
HPD said seven suspects were detained and arrested at the scene and no injuries were reported. Investigators did not provide any further information about the people taken into custody.
The smoke shop will likely be closed for the next several days as the cleanup process continues, Ali said. She estimates that the total in damages and losses is around $10,000.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARTICLE 2
  Source   ABC13, YT, Protos
  URL      (no URL recorded for this column)
  Origin   reported_K&R sheet, row 159, column "Article 2"
  Length   2,215 chars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bitcoin ATM targeted in Texas smash-and-grab
Criminals using a stolen pickup truck attempted to steal a Bitcoin ATM in a smash-and-grab raid in Texas, causing $10,000 worth of damage.

As announced by the Houston Police Department (HPD), seven people have been arrested after allegedly crashing the truck into the window of a smoke shop in the southwest of the city at 6am on Friday.

After crashing the truck, the group grabbed what they could but were unable to steal the ATM, according to police.

The gang also stole various tools from the truck’s owner, who told ABC, “They took everything from me. I don’t have work right now and I have to look for a job.”


The smoke shop owner estimates the damages will run close to $10,000. In an interview with ABC, she said, “Please put in the jail, these crazy people. They are not safe. Because they do this almost three or four times. We do hard work and they just do a minute and mess up all things.”

The shop will remain closed until repairs are complete. Police haven’t revealed any more details about the suspects.

Bitcoin ATMs targeted for physical and digital cash
Bitcoin ATMs are used to convert and transfer physical cash into bitcoin, or vice versa, typically for astronomical rates.

In the past, they’ve been targeted by thieves in Barcelona for the cash they hold, and in 2018, four men nearly bankrupted a Bitcoin ATM company after going on a double spending spree in Canada.

However, reporting from ABC seemingly misunderstands how the ATMs work. It said, “Thieves were not successful because, here’s the thing, Bitcoin is a digital currency so there’s not actual money inside those machines.”
Even if there was no cash inside, selling the ATM on the secondary market could have fetched the group anywhere between $2,000 and $10,000 dollars, depending on the brand and model.

Bitcoin ATMs are also the target of online hackers looking to steal the crypto being exchanged. Indeed, in one case, users reported losing more than $16,000 in a hack that may have been Russian interference with a Ukraine charity.

Leading Bitcoin ATM manufacturer General Bytes reported a hack that stole $1.5 million worth of crypto from both its users and the company.

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FETCHED ARTICLE 1  [RAW EXTRACT — NOT YET TRIMMED]
  !! This is the whole page as extracted. It still contains site furniture,
  !! and may contain teaser headlines for UNRELATED cases. Trim on read-through.
  !! Do not quote from it without checking the passage belongs to this case.
  Source     abc13.com
  URL        https://abc13.com/post/smash-and-grab-robbery-smokies-smoke-shop-truck-crashes-into-beechnut-store-crash/13302865/
  Field      url
  Retrieved  2026-09-05T12:51:16+00:00 via raw HTTP retrieval, deterministic extraction (HTTP 200)
  Language   unknown
  Kept       paragraphs ALL 30 paragraphs, untrimmed
  Length     3,508 chars
  Integrity  sha256 65bed045457b198156186530f03d0ee7eca36621454fe00d0ac533b5c9fa54bc
  Trimmed    NOT TRIMMED. Full page extract; trim on read-through.
  Caveat     retrieved from a live page on the date above. Unlike text copied
             from the spreadsheet, there is no second copy to hash it against.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL (unknown, verbatim as retrieved)

7 arrested after suspects crashed stolen truck into Smokie's Smoke Shop on Beechnut Street in attempt to steal ATM, HPD says - ABC13 Houston

7 suspects crashed stolen truck into SW Houston smoke shop in attempt to steal Bitcoin ATM, HPD says

HPD said it appeared that the suspects were trying to take a Bitcoin ATM, but were not successful. ABC13 spoke to the shop owner, who was devastated to see her business targeted again.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Seven people are in custody after a group tried to steal an ATM in an attempted smash-and-grab at a smoke shop in southwest Houston Friday morning, according to police.

Houston police said the group used a stolen truck to crash into Smokie's Smoke Shop just before 5 a.m. in the 15000 block of Beechnut Street.

Surveillance video from the shop shows the moment the truck, which was driving in reverse, crashed into the front of the store, shattering all of the glass and causing heavy damage. Then, several people jumped out of the truck and went inside the store.

SkyEye video from above the shop shows the entire front of the store wide open and the doors knocked down.

The owner of the shop told ABC13 several items were stolen, and thieves have targeted her store three or four times in the past.

HPD said it appeared that the suspects were trying to take a Bitcoin ATM, but were not successful.

The shop owner got an alert from her security system and saw what happened from her cameras. She rushed to the business and was devastated to see the damage.

"Please put in the jail, these crazy people. They are not safe. Because they do this almost three or four times. We do hard work and they just do a minute and mess up all things," Fehmida Ali said.

The owner of the stolen truck used in the attempted robbery showed up to the scene after getting a call from HPD. He told ABC13 his truck was stolen on Thursday from an apartment complex off Gessner and Bellaire.

Driver crashes into Houston police vehicle on SW Fwy near 610 West Loop, HPD says

Harris County constables receive $45k each in salary agreement

The man said he does home renovation and all of his tools were stolen from the truck. He's upset that his truck was damaged, but thankful it's still drivable.

"They took everything from me. I don't have work right now and I have to look for a job," the truck owner said in Spanish.

HPD said seven suspects were detained and arrested at the scene and no injuries were reported. Investigators did not provide any further information about the people taken into custody.

The smoke shop will likely be closed for the next several days as the cleanup process continues, Ali said. She estimates that the total in damages and losses is around $10,000.

For news updates, follow Charly Edsitty on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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generated from attacks-export-Gart-website.json + reported_K&R  |  case 158
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