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Police report: Suspects were loading goods from burned out Kwik N Kold into two cars.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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Firefighters battle a blaze that destroyed the Kwik N Kold Drive Thru beverage mart in the 3100 block of North Main Street in Dayton on Sunday, June 22. The fire was believed to have been started by a customer vehicle fire inside the service corridor. The owner of the business said he smelled gasoline shortly before the vehicle erupted in flames, engulfing the building.
Firefighters battle a blaze that destroyed the Kwik N Kold Drive Thru beverage mart in the 3100 block of North Main Street in Dayton on Sunday, June 22. The fire was believed to have been started by a customer vehicle fire inside the service corridor. The owner of the business said he smelled gasoline shortly before the vehicle erupted in flames, engulfing the building.
Janay Corbitt
Barton Gamble
Antion BlakeDAYTON — It was the soot on their feet that gave away eight suspects found picking through the remnants of a fire-damaged Kwik N Kold Drive Thru at 3100 N. Main St.
Police responded to a call at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, June 22, after a witness noticed a group of people items from the store that was gutted by fire June 13.
Officers arrived to find the group, which included a juvenile, loading cases of beer and tobacco products from the store into two cars, according to a police report.
Some in the group noticed officers and tried to walk away from the scene. Once corralled, officers saw many had soot from the charred building on their shoes and feet, the report said.
Someone in the group busted the padlock on an iron gate at the rear of the building, the report said.
Climbing over piles of charred wood and metal, the group was trying to make off with almost 20 cases of alcohol.
Police arrested the juvenile along with Brittany Wiley, 26; Rodrick Smith, 31; Barton Gamble, 24; Antion Blake, 20; Gary Cunningham, 50; Angela Smith, 52; and Janay Corbitt, 19.
All face felony charges of breaking and entering. Corbitt also faces misdemeanor disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing charges after threatening a police officer, the report said.
The store caught fire after a car inside the building burst into flames. The driver was pulled from the car and escaped injury
The store's owner, Ihab Hamed, did not return a call Wednesday seeking comment.
According to the report, when police asked Corbitt why she was taking items from the store, she said, "Everybody standing around here was in there, too. Everyone else was inside taking stuff, so we did, too."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2494 or lsullivan@DaytonDailyNews.com
