Almost $3K in Newport cigarettes taken from Maple Quick Stop

A duo stole $2,805 in Newport cigarettes from the Maple Quick Stop earlier this week while the store was open, in a scheme involving a woman distracting the cashier and a man climbing through the ceiling to get into the manager’s office, a man told police Friday.

According to Rome police reports:

Police responded to the convenience store at 1912 Maple Ave. on Friday, to speak with the complainant. On Tuesday morning, just after 8 a.m., the theft of 55 cigarette cartons and multiple boxes of cigar wraps began.

Video footage shows the woman enter the store, followed by the man. The woman starts talking with the cashier, as the man heads to the storage closet at the back of the store. He goes inside and doesn’t come back out for 15 minutes.

During this time, he stacked boxes next to the wall that divides the closet and the manager’s office, where tobacco products are stored. A ceiling tile was pushed up so he could climb over the wall. He grabbed the cartons and boxes from the office and tossed them through the ceiling opening and into the closet.

The man climbed back through the ceiling and walks out of the closet and then the store, only to return with an empty backpack moments later. He chats with a few customers and acts like he’s going to the bathroom. But upon seeing the cashier was busy, he goes to the closet, where he stays for a couple of minutes and then emerges with a stuffed backpack.

He leaves and then returns with an empty backpack, going right back to the closet and loading up the rest of the items. He walks out of the store and doesn’t come back.

The complainant believed the man knew that the store had just received a shipment at the start of the week. He didn’t know the value of the cigar wraps that were taken.