VIROQUA, Wis. – If nothing else, it was an audacious burglary attempt – at least as police tell it. They say a man from Westby, seven miles away, rammed his car through the glass entry of a Viroqua smoke shop, backed away, and drove back to Westby. This was about 4 a.m. No one was in the shop, but surveillance showed the second-by-second impact as a Mini Cooper shattered into the glass door. The crash activated the shop’s alarm system immediately and brought police right away, but the driver was gone –albeit with at least one headlight askew. Clues were aplenty, police said. The video showed the car’s license. Too, not many Mini-Coopers are registered around mostly rural Vernon County. Arrested in Westby was Corey Simonson, age 49. He was booked for burglary and criminal damage to property.
Evidence aplenty. A video surveillance camera at Smoke World Vape, 830 North Main Street, showed the car second by second through the front door. Image: Vernon ckujty sheriff’