Clingman Pitstop Break-In

A thief went to a lot of efffort to get cigarettes from a local store this week. A newspaper carrier spotted a broken window at Clingman Pitstop early yesterday, and called the sheriff's office. Deputies entered the store along with the owner, who determined about 50 cartons of cigarettes were missing. The security tape shows a middle aged white male entering the store with a trash can. Deputies say it appeared he knew the camera setup, because he walked backward all the way to the storeroom, so his face wouldn't show. A few minutes later, the man is seen hauling the full trash can back out. He'd used a rock to break a window on the store's front door. Total loss is 15-hundred dollars for the smokes, and 300-dollar to repair the door.