The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is thanking residents for tips that recently led to identifying three suspects wanted in a massive cigarette heist.
The three suspects – two men and a woman – shown above entered the Circle K at 22 E-C 470 in Lake Panasoffkee shortly before 1:30 a.m. on June 19 and worked in unison to steal more than 200 cartons of cigarettes, a sheriff’s office report states.
It appears that during the incident, the woman distracted the store clerk to the restroom area while the two men went behind the store counter and loaded trash bags with cartons of cigarettes. The three are seen arriving together and leaving together from the business.
The suspects’ vehicle was believed to be a blue 2006-2010 Hyundai Sonata with damage on the driver’s side. The car had aftermarket wheels on it, the report says.
Two similar cigarette thefts also occurred the same day in Citrus County following the Lake Panasoffkee theft, the report says.