Arrest made in 'nicotine bandit' case
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

RODGERS

Investigations by the Gaffney Police Department into a series of break-ins in which cigarettes appeared to be the primary objective have resulted in an arrest.

James Quinton Rodgers, 33, of Chestnut Ridge Road, has been charged with six separate break-ins at three different stores: Fred's Discount on Wilkinsville Highway, the Breakers store on East O'neal Street, and the Eastside Saveway on Wilkinsville Highway.

Cigarettes were targeted in all of the break-ins, police said.

After developing some leads in the case, detectives initially took Rodgers into custody for an alleged probation violation.

Police said the cigarettes were being sold on the street.

Six warrants filed against Rodgers accuse him of burglaries on the following dates: the Dec. 1 burglary of the Eastside Saveway, the Dec. 8 burglary of the Breakers store, the Dec. 18 burglary of Fred's Discount, the Dec. 31 burglary of the Breakers store, the Jan. 2 burglary of Fred's Discount and the Jan. 5 burglary of Fred's Discount.

In all of the burglaries of Fred's Discount, some type of object or cement block was used to break the door glass to gain entry. The estimated cost of replacing the door glass actually exceeded the value of the cigarettes taken, according to police reports.

The case was investigated by Det. Sgt. Ron Ramsey, Captain of Detectives Chris Skinner, and Det. Lt. David Clary.

Rodgers has been held at the Cherokee County Detention Center since Jan. 10. He remained jailed as of Tuesday afternoon.