Cigarette Thieves Strike Metro Convenience Store

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Another metro business was hit April 25 by thieves who steal cigarettes only.

Oklahoma City police said a Lion's Choice convenience store, located in the 4200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue near Interstate 44 was the target of the thieves.

Store surveillance video shows one man breaking the front door glass, and then another man crawling into the store. Once inside, the man took a few hundred dollars worth of cigarettes.

"It appears as the other subject acts as a look-out for the one taking the cigarettes," said Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow.

The store's manager said the thieves did not take anything else.

"It's odd," said Paresh Maskey, manager of the Lion's Choice. "Basically, they didn't even try to open registers."

The theft is similar to others recently. Just last month Edmond police said two people broke into a CVS pharmacy and took off with several cartons of cigarettes. Investigators believe the same two people have hit several CVS Pharmacies in five different cities.

"They have been going all around the metro area targeting only the CVS Pharmacies and only cigarettes, which is very bizarre in a pharmacy where you have everything from candy to cigarettes to drugs," Edmond Police spokeswoman Glynda Chu said.

A spokesman for the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency in Dallas said these kinds of thefts are increasing nationwide, following a federal tax increase in tobacco products in April. In many cases, thieves will sell the stolen smokes to consumers on the streets who are fed up with paying high prices for cigarettes.

The man stole between $300 and $1,200 worth of cigarettes.

Police also said there's no way of knowing at this time if that is what the thieves in the recent store burglaries are doing.

Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 235-7300.

More on News9.com:

• Cigarette Thieves Target CVS Pharmacies