BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Police are warning retailers and store owners about an on-going string of cigarette thefts, as they hope to catch up to the person or persons responsible.
Officers say a heavy-set woman in her mid-to-late thirties will walk into a retail location, and ask the clerk for multiple cartons of cigarettes. When the clerk returns with the cartons, the woman will ask for one final carton. As the clerk goes to retrieve it, the suspect grabs the cigarettes and leaves.
It is possible that a second individual is waiting in a car outside. That vehicle is described as an early-2000s gray or tan Chevy Malibu with a stolen Michigan license plate DDJ 6052.
Police say the suspect(s) have targeted numerous locations in the greater-Battle Creek area over the last 72 hours, and retailers are being warned of the thefts.
Anyone with information is asked to call police or Silent Observer at 269-964-3888.
