Police arrest 2 men in nicotine-fix heist

Costa Mesa police arrested two men Tuesday on suspicion of stealing $8,000 worth of cigarettes from a Fairview Road gas station.

David Banks of Van Nuys and Jason Manigo of Los Angeles, both 30, are suspected of commercial burglary and possession of stolen property, Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Zack Hofritza said. Both had outstanding arrest warrants — Banks was on parole, and Manigo was on probation.

At 5:27 p.m. police learned that cigarettes had been stolen from the Chevron station at 3000 Fairview Road. The police helicopter spotted the suspects’ car, rented from Los Angeles International Airport, on the San Diego Freeway (405), and when officers caught up with the car, the driver got off at the Valley View exit, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Clay Epperson said.

A gas station worker positively identified the men as the ones who broke into a manager’s office at the station, and police found three trash bags containing a total of more than 100 cartons of cigarettes in the car.

Banks and Manigo are scheduled to be arraigned today at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.

— Alicia Robinson