BRADENTON -- Some people wear ski masks when they're looking to rob a convenience store. Vernon C. Johnson chose a newspaper to conceal his identity, authorities said.

Johnson, 41, of Palmetto, waited until the store clerk took out the trash at the Circle K in the 3000 block of 14th Street West to walk inside and steal a case of Newport cigarettes, according to a sheriff's report.

A surveillance video helped authorities catch Johnson, who was charged with grand theft. He told authorities that he made a deal with the clerk to buy the cigarettes at a discounted price, detectives said.

He said he knew it was wrong, "but he needed the smokes," the report said.

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BRADENTON -- An 18-year-old told authorities he was robbed at gunpoint after he refused to buy drugs.

Kyle D. Thaler was driving east on Cortez Road near First Street on Friday when a Chevrolet Caprice pulled up next to him at a stoplight, a sheriff's report said. A passenger asked Thaler if he wanted some powder.

When Thaler declined, the passenger jumped out of the car, whipped out a gun and directed him into a parking lot, according to the report. The men stole speakers before fleeing.