Burglars steal $15,000 worth of cigarettes in Slidell

Thieves made off with about $15,000 worth of cigarettes in a pair of Saturday morning buglaries in Slidell, authorities said Tuesday.
Police believe the same men are responsible for smashing through the glass doors of both Jack's Beverage, at 1126 Old Spanish Trail, and the Winn-Dixie at 851 Brown's Switch Road to snatch the smokes, Slidell police spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz said.
Surveillance footage shows the burglars breaking into Jack's Beverage about 4:55 a.m. by shattering the front door with a large rock before loading up garbage bags with between 150 and 200 cartons of cigarettes, Foltz said. They then fled in what appears to be a Ford pickup, he said.
The break-in set off the store's burglar alarm, which called police to the scene.
About an hour later, a manager at the Winn-Dixie arrived at his store to open the business for the day and found the front door had been smashed, Foltz said. The manager and patrol officers determined about 150 cartons of cigarettes and several bottles of liquor were taken, he said.
Surveillance footage shows two of the suspects but a third hid his face in the hood of a sweatshirt, Foltz said. The third suspect was wearing a dark blue hoodie with a gold emblem and white writing, he said.