Masked Man Steals Cigarettes At Walgreens, Evades Police: New Lenox PD

NEW LENOX, IL — A man in a ski mask stole a carton of cigarettes from a New Lenox Walgreens Wednesday afternoon before fleeing east on Route 30, New Lenox Police said.

The man walked into the store at Schoolhouse Road and Route 30, went behind the cashier's counter and took the box of cigarettes that had just been delivered, police said.

Police said no weapon was displayed or inferred, and no threat communicated to anyone inside the store. A witness who saw the man before he entered the store, though, said he reached for something in his right pocket before putting his ski mask on.

The man then fled in a vehicle that was spotted by a neighboring police department. Police gave chase and attempted to stop the car, but the suspect was driving too dangerously and at high speeds. Police abandoned the chase.

New Lenox police are investigating the retail theft.