Gainesville Police arrested a man accused of breaking into a tobacco store Sunday night and stealing synthetic marijuana and cigarettes to pay for his drug addiction.
Police charged Larry James Owens Jr., 43, of 413 S. Main St., with burglary, theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance, according to a GPD arrest report.
At 3 a.m. Sunday, Owens broke into the Land B4 Time Smoke Shop, 107 N. Main St., because he was angry at the owner.
After he shattered the front door, Owens walked in and stole several packs of Newport cigarettes and more than 3 grams of fake marijuana, also known as “spice.”
When police arrested Owens at 5 p.m. Monday, Owens said he sold the cigarettes to fund his crack cocaine and spice addiction.
Police found two bags of spice and two glass pipes on Owens. Owens said he was going to use one of the pipes to smoke crack, according to the report.
He added that the spice came from Land B4 Time, and that he was smoking it for the last day.
Police booked Owens in Alachua County Jail at 7:32 p.m. Monday with a $12,500 bond.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
