AUSTINTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)- Three men are in custody after police say they stole cigarettes out of the back of a truck.

Police were called to the BP gas station on Mahoning Avenue just before 10 a.m. Thursday.

Reports say that a witness saw three men in a Toyota Avalon take cigarettes from a truck that was being unloaded in the parking lot with merchandise that was taken inside the store.

About 77 cartons of cigarettes worth between $5,000 and $7,000 were taken, according to the employee who was driving the truck.

Reports state that the gas station employee provided police with surveillance video of the incident, which showed the theft, according to the police report.

At about 10:18 a.m. the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported that they had the suspected vehicle stopped on I-80.

A search of the vehicle uncovered the stolen cigarettes, the report stated.

Bruce Ford, 54, of Euclid and Mario Purefoy, 56, of Cleveland, were charged with theft. The third suspect, Tyrone Brooks, 52, of Euclid, was charged with complicity to theft.

  • Tyrone Brooks, 52, of Euclid, was charged with complicity to theft out of Austintown.
  • Bruce Ford, 54, of Euclid, charged with theft
  • Three men are in custody after police say they stole cigarettes out of the back of a truck.

Both Ford and Brooks have active warrants from Akron Municipal Court for theft and criminal damage, according to the police report.