The police said that he went to a Bradley convenience store around 3:30 am last Sunday to buy cigarettes, but the store was closed.
Mexico City: In a bizarre incident, a man in New Mexico broke into a convenience store in the dead of the night 'to pay for a pack of cigarettes', a media report said.
The accused has been identified as 24-year-old Ellis C. Battista of Las Cruces.
The police said that he went to a Bradley convenience store around 3:30 am last Sunday to buy cigarettes, but the store was closed.
After knocking on the door several times to no avail, he broke into the store, picked a pack of Camels and left $6 on the counter — making sure the security camera could see he was paying for the smokes, nbcnews.com reported.
Battista is believed to be in an inebriated state at the time.
Currently, he is out on bail.
When a New Mexico convenience store was broken into, police say security footage showed the man leaving money in the till, instead of taking off with all the cash.
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WTLV reported that according to the Las Cruces Police department, Ellis Batista and another man had originally arrived at Bradley's convenience store to purchase cigarettes late Sunday night. While the convenience store is normally open 24 hours a day, Batista and friend found the clerk off duty, and the store locked.
Instead of purchasing cigarettes from the 24-hour Walgreen's across the street, witnesses saw Batista aggressively pounding on the door, before finally kicking and breaking the door, WTLV reported.
Store surveillance cameras then showed the suspect entering the store, and grabbing a pack of cigarettes, cops say. Instead of leaving immediately, the good-natured suspect reportedly left behind $6 in exchange for the item. To make this clear, security footage captured Batista waving the bills in front of the camera.
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Police officers soon located Batista and charged him with breaking and entering. He has since posted $4,000 bond, and will appear in court March 8.
No charges were filed against his friend, who never entered the store, WTLV reported.
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Police in New Mexico say a man broke into a convenience store to buy cigarettes, NBC News reported.
The man, identified as Ellis C. Battista, 24, pounded on the door of a Bradley, New Mexico, convenience store.
He kicked the door’s lower panel, picked a pack of Camels and left $6 on the counter. He also made sure security camera could see he was paying for the smokes, police said.
Battista, who police believed to be intoxicated at the time, was free on $4,000 bond. He’s awaiting a March 8 court appearance on a single count of fourth-degree breaking and entering, according to court records.
A Las Cruces man was arrested after breaking into a convenience store. The man still attempted to pay for the pack of cigarettes he took.
The Las Cruces Police Department arrested a man after he broke into a convenience store Sunday morning. Even though he brok in, the man still attempted to pay $6 for the pack of cigarettes he took.
Around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Battista and a friend went to the Bradley gas station on El Paseo Road to guy a pack of cigarettes.The two men found the store to be closed, even though it normally is open 24 hours a day. Battista pounded on the door and kicked the door, which caused the lower panel of the door to break. Surveillance videos inside the store showed Battista entering the store through the broken door and picked out a pack of cigarettes. He then made sure to show the security cameras the cigarettes he took, as well as the $6 that he left on the counter for the cashier.
Someone witnessed the break-in and called the police. Las Cruces police found Battista and his friend nearby and arrested Battista. His friend hasn't been charged because that person never entered the store.
Ellis C Battusta of Las Cruces has now been charged with break and entering. He is not being charged with stealing though, since he left the money for the cigarettes. At least he has that going for him.
Detectives also wanted to note that there is a Walgreens immediately north of the Bradley gas station that is open 24 hours a day.