Burglar smashes way into Palmetto Bay smoke shop

Cash, merchandise stolen from My Tobacconist Smoke Shop

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Police are searching for a burglar who smashed his way into a smoke shop early Monday in Palmetto Bay.

Surveillance video shows the man, who was wearing a black tank top, a dark hat and white fabric over his head, smashing through the glass door at the My Tobacconist Smoke Shop at 9869 E. Fern St.

One of the owners told Local 10 News he woke up to a call from his security company. 

"He busted through the bottom portion of the impact glass. He then made his way through here," Ben Carrasco explained. 

The burglary happened between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Monday. 

The video shows the burglar checking out where the owners typically keep cigarettes but he doesn't find what he's looking for.

He then goes to a back room for a little while and then comes back out and steals cigars and lighters before taking hundreds of dollars from the cash box. 

He boxes up the items and cash and then leaves the building all within about a minute and a half. 

The owner said the thief looks familiar.

"We did have a rash of break-ins previously and this person does look very similar to the person that committed those," Carrasco said.  

Carrasco said he hopes anyone who recognizes the man in the video does the right thing. 

"Hopefully, the police will be able to catch him again if it is the same person," he said. "We'd really like to get this guy off the streets."

Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.


About the Author:

Saira Anwer joined the Local 10 News team in July 2018. Saira is two-time Emmy-nominated reporter and comes to South Florida from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was working as a reporter and anchor.