ChapNews Vol. 8: Car-mex Crash

BEDFORD - For years, thieves have used the smash-and-grab method to steal items from stores. Early Tuesday, one thief turned to the grab-and-smash.

After taking a small jar of lip balm and being challenged by a clerk, the man rammed his car into the front door. It happened about 2 a.m. in the 2200 block of Murphy Drive at the Texaco Food Mart.

The clerk told police that a man about 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds walked into the store, picked up a small jar of Carmex and started to walk out. As he reached the front door, the clerk asked him if he was going to pay for it, police said. The man walked out, got into a white two-door car and drove into the front door, police said. He then backed up and rammed the front door a second time before driving away, police said.

But the thief may not get far -- the clerk got the license plate number and gave it to police. The estimated loss: $1.39 for the Carmex and about $2,000 in damage to the store.

[Star Telegram, Fort Worth, TX]