Agoura Hills cigar store robbed twice

A car chase and a house-to-house search by sheriff’s deputies led to the arrest of a man said to be part of the gang that robbed the Smoke Zone cigar and cigarette store in Agoura Hills on April 18.

A group of men broke into the small retail store twice, once on March 20 and again the following month. Deputies arrested 19-year-old Jose Herrera following the second robbery, but as many as half a dozen other suspects remain at large, according to reports.

Nearby residents heard early morning noises and saw the robbers both times, but didn’t call authorities until the second incident.

"Both times they witnessed it, but the first time they thought they were making a delivery," said Arseen Chrikjian, the store owner. "When I spoke to the neighbors, I said whenever you see anything like that happening that early in the morning, I assure you it’s not a delivery."

According to Chrikjian, the robbers arrived in several vehicles around 5 a.m. on Thurs., April 18 and used crowbars to pry open a back entry door. As the store alarm wailed, the men grabbed an undisclosed amount of cigars, cigarettes and other smoking accessories and fled in different directions.

"The alarm went off and they still just went ahead and did their thing," Chrikjian said.

Lost Hills Sheriff’s Detective Todd Kocisko said deputies spotted one of the vehicles, a van, driving toward Old Agoura. Herrera, the driver, eventually stopped the van and fled on foot through neighborhood streets.

Searching for their suspect with dogs and a helicopter, the deputies formed a containment area that included Foothill Drive and Fairview Place. School officials called for a lockdown at Agoura High School as the drama unfolded.

Kocisko said a dozen deputies searched Old Agoura for several hours, then departed. Several deputies remained behind, however, and caught Herrera as he tried to pay a gardener to drive him away from the area.

"He was apprehended within a few blocks of where the van stopped at the end of the pursuit," Kocisko said.

The van reportedly contained gloves, cash, a cell phone and stolen property.

Chrikjian said he has installed extra security measures in his store, and for now, the back door remains welded shut.

Deputies also say two local Rite Aid drugstores have been the target of recent tobacco product thefts.

Two burglaries occurred at the Agoura Hills store and the other in Calabasas. The most recent incident was on Wed., May 1 when $6,400 worth of cigarettes was stolen at 2:17 a.m. from the Rite Aid store on Commons Way.

Officials say the escalating cost of retail cigarettes has contributed to the recent thefts.