Store Clerk Is Arrested in Stolen Cigarette Investigation

A North Hollywood convenience store clerk has been arrested on suspicion of buying stolen cigarettes, continuing an investigation that led to the arrest of four men last month after a van crashed into a bus stop, killing a housekeeper on her way to work, Los Angeles police said.

Mukesh Patel, 29, of Van Nuys was taken into custody Friday night on suspicion of receiving stolen property, Sgt. Paul Mattson said. Patel, who works at the Magnolia Market, was arrested after he paid $733 in cash to an undercover police informant offering stolen cigarettes, Mattson said.

Patel, who told police that his brother owns the market, was later freed on $2,500 bail, Mattson said.

Police seized as evidence from the market 630 cartons of what they believe are stolen cigarettes, he said. Many were still stamped with the names of retailers such as Thrifty and Vons, Mattson added.

The Magnolia Market, at Magnolia Boulevard and Bakman Avenue, is believed to be one of several stores that have been buying stolen cigarettes, Mattson said.

Undercover officers watched the alleged mastermind of the cigarette-fencing ring--paroled burglar Steven Ray Pickard, 32--enter the Magnolia Market late last month with several boxes of what appeared to be cigarettes, Mattson said.

Pickard is suspected in about 100 convenience-store burglaries in which cigarettes were the chief item stolen, Mattson said. Since Pickard’s Nov. 20 arrest, Mattson said, no cigarette burglaries have been reported.

Pickard is being held in County Jail on suspicion of murder in the death of Reyna Martinez Duarte, 23, who was killed when Pickard’s van crashed into a Canoga Park bus stop as he and three alleged accomplices fled at high speed from pursuing police officers, authorities said.