SILVER SPRING, MD – A man entered a Silver Spring smoke shop with the intention to rob it, but was denied when the clerk refused to comply. Instead the man ran off with the clerk’s phone as a consolation prize.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division are investigating an attempted commercial robbery of the Exhale Smoke Shop in the 8200 block of Georgia Avenue. Detectives have released surveillance video of the male suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.
“On Friday, March 4, 2022, at approximately 6:25 p.m., 3rd District Officers responded to the location for the report of an attempted commercial robbery that just occurred,” police said in a report. “The investigation by detectives determined that the suspect entered the Exhale Smoke Shop, placed a messenger bag on the counter and told the store employee to put the money from the register in the bag. When the employee refused, the suspect went behind the counter and demanded the money from the register.”
When the store employee again refused, the suspect snatched the employee’s personal cellphone from her possession and left the store. The suspect did not obtain anything from the store.