By Joe Johnson
Athens-Clarke County police are asking for the public’s help identifying a commercial burglary suspect.
They released surveillance video footage that captured images of the suspect as he looted cigarettes valued at $1,000 early Wednesday morning from Quick Pantry at 115 North Ave.
Police said they hoped someome would be able to help them identify the suspect from the released images.
According to a police report, officer responded to the convenience store at 4:26 a.m. to investigate a burglar alarm activation.
Upon arrival, officers found a side door had been badly damaged and pushed inward, with packs of cigarettes and a portion of a cigarette display cabinet on the sidewalk outside the store, according to the report.
A large rock and a screwdriver were located on the store’s floor, the report noted.
Store employees arrived at the scene and found video footage from a security system that depicted a male unscrewing portions of the door and then use a rock to smash out the bottom door glass, according to the report.
After entering the store, the suspect went behind the counter with a duffle bag and “initially attempted to fill the bag with cigarettes but then grabbed a nearby box and pulled multiple rows of cigarettes into the box before exiting the business” walking away toward Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, according to the police report.
Officers crossed the street to search an area near the North Oconee River Greenway, where they recovered a large quantity of cigarettes and a cardboard box alongside the river, according to the report.
Police described the suspect as a white male, whose face was covered with black material. He wore Levi jeans, Nike athletic shoes, and his jacket has a triangle symbol on the front.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked by police to contact Detective Jonathan Simms at (762) 400-7102 or jonathan.simms@accgov.com