Newports Are Cigarette Du Jour Monday for Flint Thieves

Newports are cigarette du jour Monday for Flint thieves
By Bryn Mickle
September 22, 2009, 7:40AM
FLINT, Michigan — Newport cigarettes were targeted by thieves in two separate heists Monday.

Three men with a sledgehammer smashed through the wall of a grocery store on E. Flint Park Boulevard about 12:45 a.m. and stole Newports, cigars, white t-shirts and lottery tickets.

The break-in was captured by a surveillance camera and police are investigating.

The second burglary came about three hours later at a store on N. Franklin Avenue where Newports and cigars were taken.

The store's surveillance camera, however, was broken and police have no suspects in that case.

Straight up? So, this is what the world is coming to? Being a native of the city, this kind of caught me off guard. Not the craving for the Newports, but the fact that they're breaking into stores for them. That's a shame to say the least. This reminds me of someone who just got released from prison, and they realized that the stores sell cigarettes. No more bartering for smokes in the big house... just get a sledgehammer and bust down the joint.

Home has really gone down the drain, and I don't see any hopes of regurgitation any time soon. At least from the perspective of the neighborhoods on the north end. Downtown may be looking at a facelift, but what does that really mean in a place like this?

None the less, cigarettes are obviously a hot commodity with the state of the economy and the price of the sticks. What used to be a happening town, and a hotbed for athletes... folks now enter at their own risk, and folks exit at the drop of a dime. Willingly and unwillingly. The downfall of the black man... Newports.

Ok, maybe not, but still...

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