Pittsburgh-area business owner speaks out after his store was robbed

NORTH VERSAILLES, PA. (KDKA) – A business owner is speaking out after he said a group of teenagers robbed his store in North Versailles.

The robbery happened at Endless Vapor and CBD off Route 30 on Tuesday. Surveillance video shows one of the teens walking into the store first, appearing to try to distract the owner.

“I think they planned it out, and his intent was to get me to the far side of the counter. Unfortunately, the phone was all the way over there as well, like on the far side. That was the black object on the counter that I was going for,” owner Taylor Sullivan said. 

North Versailles police said the teens are believed to be 15 or 16 years old. Sullivan said he was suspicious of the teens as soon as the first one walked into the store.

“(He had) full face covering. It was 80 degrees out that day, so I knew something was wrong right away,” Sullivan said.

Moments later, the video shows three other teens running into the store, attempting to steal products off the shelves before Sullivan chased them out.

“As soon as I started yelling, they started running. So, I didn’t really see much. It didn’t seem as though they wanted to be violent. They just wanted to come in and take as much as they could and get out,” Sullivan said.

He said they got away with about 15 or 20 vapes, totaling around $450.

Just days before, police said they believed the same group of teens were involved in an assault just down the street from the vape shop.

Video provided to KDKA-TV by police shows the group walking down the sidewalk on Route 30 on Saturday before approaching a man, unprovoked and attacking him.

Police said the victim was taken to the hospital. Sullivan hopes the teens are caught before someone else gets hurt.

“I hope they’re either caught or at least see this and, you know, they think about it a little bit more and hopefully change their actions, you know, before they or someone else gets hurt in the process,” Sullivan said.

Police are asking anyone who recognizes the teens should call them immediately.

Erika Stanish

Erika is an award-winning investigative journalist who joined KDKA in October of 2021. She is thrilled to be back in her hometown and reporting for the station she grew up watching!