Burglars Storm Smoke Shop With Axe, Garbage Cans

responded in the middle of the night to a burglar alarm at a local tobacco shop, where they found cigarette cartons and packs strewn about the parking lot.

The alarm at Tobacco House, 8005 W. 183rd St., , was activated at 2:49 a.m. June 1, according to the police report. The front window of the business was smashed and officers said cigarettes were scattered trailing east through the parking lot.

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"Once inside, we observed shelving, cartons, packs and glass all over the floor," the report said. "The area around the counter and cash registers appeared untouched." 

Two employees of the store went to the scene to access its surveillance video. Footage shows a black SUV, possibly a Ford or Lincoln, pulling alongside the front of the business, stopping just east of the front doors, the report said. Three men wearing grey gloves then approached the storefront.

"One of the black males appeared average height and weight and was dressed in a white hooded sweatshirt with black graphics, jeans and black gym shoes and had a 55-gallon grey plastic garbage can," an officer wrote, in the report. 

Another man in the trio, wearing a green shirt and jeans, was also carrying a garbage can, police said. A third was armed with an axe, which was used to shatter the window.

The two with the cans are shown entering through the broken window to snag hundreds of packs of cigarettes. Police said the faces of all three men are clearly visible in the surveillance video.

They were in and out in three minutes. The case remained under investigation around 4 p.m. June 4.

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