Search On For Suspects In Brooklyn Drugstore Cigarette Theft Spree
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Wednesday were searching for two suspects in the theft of thousands of dollars' worth of cigarettes from drugstores around Brooklyn.
The behind-the-counter thefts happened all around the borough – in the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Park Slope, and Brooklyn Heights.
The ten thefts happened at the following specific times and locations:
• Around 4:38 a.m. Thursday, June 1, one suspect walked into the same Rite Aid at 8222 18th Ave. and took about $1,343 worth of cigarettes.
• Around 4:08 a.m. Wednesday, June 7, the a suspect walked into the Walgreens at 9408 Third Ave. and took about $800 worth of cigarettes.
• Around 3:52 a.m. Friday, June 9, the suspects walked into the Rite Aid at 344 Avenue X and took about $133 worth of cigarettes;
• Around 2:24 a.m. Monday, June 12, the suspects walked into the Rite Aid at 120 Court St. and took about $4,170 worth of cigarettes.
• Around 2:50 a.m. Monday, June 12, the suspects walked into the Rite Aid at 462 Fifth Ave. and took about $1,462 worth of cigarettes.
• Around 2:46 a.m. Wednesday, June 14, the suspects walked into the Rite Aid at 1720 Kings Hwy. and took about $400 worth of cigarettes. This time, they fled in a black Nissan Altima.
• Around 3:42 a.m. Wednesday, June 14, the suspects walked into the Rite Aid at 6900 Fourth Ave. and took about $900 worth of cigarettes. This time, a store employee tried to stop them, and one of the suspects took a knife out of his pocket and stabbed the employee – causing a minor cut to his arm. The employee refused medical attention, police said.
• Around 2:40 a.m. Monday, June 19, the suspects walked into the Rite Aid at 3823 Nostrand Ave. and took about $280 worth of cigarettes.
• Around 4:23 a.m. Friday, June 23, the suspects walked into the Rite Aid at 2532 82nd St. and took about $1,581 worth of cigarettes. They again fled in the black Nissan Altima.
• Around 9:18 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, the suspects went into the Rite Aid at 8222 18th Ave. and took about $1,069 worth of cigarettes.
One of the suspects was described as a black male with a thin build, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds. The other was described as a black male with a thin build standing 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds.
Police have released surveillance images.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
