After breaking a bottle to distract a clerk, two thieves stole nearly $3,000 worth of cigarettes from a Paso Robles gas station early Sunday morning.
When the two suspects entered the Chevron station at 190 Niblick Road, one went to the back of the store and dropped a glass bottle from the display case. The clerk cleaned up the mess, and then noticed the suspects were gone, according to the Paso Robles Police Department.
Another patron asked the clerk if the two men possibly worked at the business because he saw them leaving with boxes. The clerk then checked the store’s surveillance video and saw the suspects had stolen cigarettes from behind the counter while he was distracted cleaning up the mess they created.
The two thieves stole two cases, or 41 cartons, of cigarettes from behind the counter, the clerk said. The cases contained various brands of cigarettes.
The clerk then reported the theft to police who searched the area but did not manage to locate the suspects.
Police describe the suspects as white men in their 20s. One suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark colored pants and a red baseball cap. The other man was wearing a dark colored hooded coat, dark colored pants and a red scarf.
Investigators are asking anyone who has information about the case to call the Paso Robles Police Department or Crime Stoppers.
Is it time for a “War on Tobacco”? This kind of thing goes on much more than reported as there’s a big market for stolen cigarettes, and they are regularly stolen and in much larger quantities than this (Google it, it’ll shock you). Most would much rather pay a “deeply discounted” price as there is no risk in doing so as the evidence most often just goes up in smoke….
Here’s hoping these photos help identify and lead to the arrest of these thieves.
20’s? That guy with the red scarf looks 90.