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PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg woman was accused of stealing over $72,000 worth of cigarettes from a gas station and then selling them to other stores in a months-long scheme.
“Almost every day for approximately two months,” Brittany Jenkins, 36, walked into a Circle K on 66th Street North, pretended to use a microwave next to the storage room, and then slipped inside while the cashier was distracted, a Pinellas Park Police Department arrest report said.
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Jenkins would fill a reusable shopping bag with cartons of cigarettes before leaving the store, according to police. She was accused of selling the stolen merchandise to two other stores for half their value.
On Wednesday, officers stopped Jenkins’ car after she left the store and found $711.40 worth of stolen cigarettes, the arrest report said. Police said she confessed to the scheme, which resulted in a $72,210 loss.
Jenkins was charged with scheme to defraud ($50,000 or more), grand theft (greater than $20,000), and dealing in stollen property. She remained in the Pinellas County Jail on Friday on a $170,000 bond.
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