Cortland Police Investigating Two Incidents at Riverside Plaza – Smokers Choice Store Vandalized; Store Clerk Verbally Assaulted

The City of Cortland Police Department is actively investigating two incidents that took place at the Riverside Shopping Plaza on Friday, September 20th. Cortland Police say the first incident occurred at the Smokers Choice around 7:30 in the evening.

Officers responded to Smokers Choice for a report of a man causing damage inside the store. As officers arrived on scene, the male had fled the area, but the store was in disarray and the store clerk had locked herself in the office for her own safety.

An investigation into what caused the unidentified male to cause havoc stemmed from the store clerk refusing to sell him earlier an S5 synthetic urine without proper ID. After she denied the sale because of the lack of an ID, a second male then entered the store and attempted to make the same purchase.

The store clerk became suspicious of the behavior and also denied the sale to the second man. After this, the first male reentered the store and began to verbally assault the store clerk and then vandalized the store. Cortland Police say he damaged the lottery scanner and also a cash register. Other items in the store were also vandalized.

Officers were able to get a description of the suspect and were given out to patrols and a similar subject was located at the Clarion Inn on Locust Ave. Cortland Police say patrols tried to identify them, but there was no positive ID made by the victim. Cortland Police say this investigation remains ongoing and further leads are being followed up.

The second incident at the Riverside Plaza took place at Subway, located next-door to Smokers Choice. Cortland Police say this incident occurred prior to the Smokers Choice incident, but was reported afterwards.

Employees of the Subway say a man entered the restaurant, ordered a sub, and left after he paid for the sub. It was after he left they noticed the man stole a $20 tip from their tip jar. Employees were able to recognize him as he visited the store multiple times over the last few days and told police they believed he may be staying in a hotel. They also said they believed he was the one that caused the damage at the Smokers Choice.

Cortland Police continued their investigation and spoke with a clerk of the Clarion Inn. The clerk informed officers there was a large number of rooms being rented out to out-of-town temporary workers who were working at Borg Warner in Ithaca. Cortland Police subsequently learned numerous hotels have been rented out for temporary workers. The investigation remains ongoing to identify the suspect(s) in both incidents.