By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com
For a second day in a row, a car has been used as a battering ram to enter a sporting goods store, allowing the vehicle's occupants to steal pellet guns, police say.
Early this morning, a Honda Civic was driven through the glass front doors of the Big 5 store at 7833 Greenback Lane, just west of Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights.
The thieves took Airsoft guns that shoot plastic, non-lethal pellets. The break-in this morning follows a similar ramming and theft of pellet guns in Rancho Cordova on Tuesday morning.
This morning, workers at a nearby business taking out the trash heard the crash then saw that the car had hit the store. The witnesses then saw the car back up and accelerate rapidly into the sporting goods store in an attempt to make a bigger entry, said Citrus Heights police Sgt. Jeremy Garrison.
Three accomplices were outside the store during the ramming, police said. Witnesses told police the driver of the car was joined by one accomplice to loot the store while the other two stood watch.
"One of the three entered the business with the driver of the vehicle and with a backpack started to collect Airsoft guns from a display rack," Garrison said.
The thieves were in the store for only a few minutes before fleeing on foot, leaving the vehicle at the scene.
The car used in the break-in was not reported stolen, Garrison said. However, police will contact the owner today.
Sheriff's officials confirmed that a third similar incident occurred shortly before 2 a.m. this morning in Rancho Cordova. Someone unsuccessfully tried to drive a vehicle through the front door of R.C. Guns and Ammo on Zinfandel Drive, officials said.
Thieves used a stolen car Tuesday morning to ram into another Big 5 store on Folsom Boulevard at Zinfandel Drive in Rancho Cordova before stealing air pistols.
Airsoft guns, either powered by gas or spring-loaded, are designed to look like models of lethal handguns or rifles. A Baretta look-a-like gas-powered Airsoft pistol costs $160 online.
They are used recreationally in games where participants bundle up in thick clothing and shoot at each other. A direct hit on skin would leave a welt and sting, said Garrison.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
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