Police finally arrest an armed serial cigarette thief who was reported stealing from different stores in Miami
Detectives said they were looking into at least four robberies in which a man stole cigarettes from several stores in Miami. Police released a video showing the cigarette thief slipping behind the counter, grabbing several cigarette packs, and then fleeing away on a bicycle.
Amid the recent shootings at Miami Beach and Miami Gardens, the armed cigarette thief only sparked more alarm among Miami residents.
The Robberies
The first robbery happened on May 9th at a Walgreens at 200 Southwest 13th Street, just before 2 a.m. The store clerk claimed he was helping a customer behind the counter when the suspect walked in and started taking cigarette packets.
When the clerk told the suspect to go and tried to stop him, the suspect allegedly threatened to shoot the clerk, according to the police.
The suspect returned to the store two days later, on May 11th at 4:30 a.m., where employees say he came in and started stuffing lighters and cigarettes into a bag. Again, the man threatened to shoot the staff if they attempted to stop him from fleeing the premises.
This was the same suspect who stole several cigarette packs from Walgreens at 1699 Northwest 7th Street on May 12th. This time he intimidated the staff by showing them his concealed knife.
The Cigarette Thief Arrest
An anonymous tip from Crime Stoppers led police to the residence of 31-year-old Angel Llanes, who was taken into custody. The arrest occurred after Llanes robbed a Family Dollar store at 3 Northeast 54th Street.
Police said Llanes entered the shop and started stuffing his bag with cigarette packs as he did during previous robberies. When a clerk attempted to stop Llanes, he started punching her and threatened to shoot her if she didn't stop.
Llanes then immediately fled the store, according to police reports.
When police arrived at Llanes' house later that day, he tried to escape but was caught and arrested.
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