Cigarette burglars busted by security video

The men who police say are responsible for a large number of business burglaries in the area are behind bars. The arrest comes after weeks of detective work, helped by some key surveillance video.
According to St. Matthews Police, the rising cost of cigarettes continues to lead to more business burglaries. Detectives say the thieves they were after were getting good at busting into stores and getting hundreds of cartons out. But thanks to a number of security camera tapes, the clues were provided to make an arrest.
"In each case, they lost six to seven thousand dollars worth of merchandise," said Det. Harvey Hunt of the St. Matthews Police.
Police say the same men hit some 14 stores and they had the same MO. It started in November at the Cox's Smoker's Outlet in St. Matthews. Hunt said Tracy Shanklin and Kenneth Foster, Sr. used a sledge hammer on the front door, pushed their black garbage cans in, loaded up cartons of cigarettes and were out in two minutes time. The store surveillance cameras helped Hunt make out a black truck.
From there, the suspects hit at least six Cox's Smoker's Outlets in the weeks ahead, along with other tobacco dealers from Shepherdsville to Bardstown to Bo's Smoke Shop in Anderson County. It seemed the duo had a fool-proof plan and were driving what first appeared to be a vehicle like hundreds of others on the street - a black truck. Police say what the two didn't count on were security cameras at nearby businesses that got a good shot of the getaway truck.
A local Target camera picked up the truck from several angles. Detectives could see the hood was actually teal and another angle showed a thick white stripe down the side. After St. Matthews Police sent out an e-mail to other police agencies, the truck was spotted on 20th Street in Louisville's Portland neighborhood, but it had been torched. That's when security cameras came in handy once again when the cameras captured the alleged thieves switching to other cars, vehicles which allegedly belonged to family and friends of the suspects.
"That's when the pieces all fell together for us," Hunt said.
Without the video, Police say they would still be looking for the two. Instead, they were able to obtain a search warrant and make arrests.
"The old saying ‘a picture's worth a thousand words," said Hunt, "Well, the video's even better than that."
Shanklin and Foster have been charged with burglary and are being held at Louisville Metro Corrections.
The owners of Cox's Smoker's Outlet did not want to go on camera, but tell us they are very happy about the arrest and consider it a great Christmas present.