ELK GARDEN — About $1,000 worth of tobacco products were discovered stolen at Jones Service Station, in Elk Garden, when owner Annette Jones opened the store for business on Monday morning.
Jones stated that, as she arrived at the store about 7:30 a.m., she noticed a side window was broken, but thought the damage was due to high winds that were present in the Elk Garden area over the past week.
When she unlocked the door, Jones saw the cigarettes and snuff items were gone from the inside area near the broken widow. Also, located in the same area is the store’s cash register.
“The cash register was moved slightly and opened, but I never leave any money on the premises when the store is closed,” Jones said.
She said the rack that holds 18 cartons of cigarettes was found empty outside the store on top of a storage building, and other tobacco products stacked near the cash register were missing.
Jones was last in the store late Sunday afternoon, and feels because of the small space from the broken window, the robber(s) were unable to gain full entrance into the store but rather leaned in as far as they could to steal the tobacco products.
Mineral County Deputy Eric Veach was the investigating officer and he urged anyone with any information concerning the burglary to contact him at 304-788-4107.
