Man Drops Bag With $2K Of Stolen Cigarettes: Cambridge Police

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Police said they arrested two men after one was caught with more than $2,100 worth of stolen cigarettes and both were caught on surveillance breaking into a convenience store Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday morning someone called to report a break in at a convenience store near the corner of Green and Magazine streets. When police got there, they saw a man walking away from the store with a full trash bag. When police attempted to stop the man he dropped the bag and took off running.

A witness told police that a second man ran out of the store and into an alleyway nearby.

Police found that man, Jose Torres, 58, who is homeless, and detained him shortly after. While they were talking to him, the first man, who had dropped the trash bag earlier came back by. That's when police took Athen Whigham, 61, of Boston into custody as well.

Police said they found $473 in cash and coins, 15 cartons of cigarettes, and 47 individual packs of cigarettes worth approximately $2,167 in the trash bag.

Officers viewed surveillance video of the breaking and entering, which showed Whigham and Torres broke into the convenience store two separate times this evening, approximately one hour apart, according to police.

Whigham is being charged with two counts of Breaking and Entering Nighttime for Felony. Torres is being charged with two counts of Breaking and Entering Nighttime for Felony, Possession Class A Drug, Possession to Distribute Class A Drug, and Public Consumption of Marijuana. Officers said they found seven individually folded paper bags of heroin on Torres.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).