Detective bumps into suspect buying cigarettes at gas station

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- A Michigan detective can credit legwork, luck and one man's bad habit for his latest arrest.

A Traverse City police detective went to a local gas station Thursday to show clerks a surveillance video image of someone accused of stealing a woman's credit card a week before. The man Detective Kevin Gay was looking for was buying a pack of cigarettes there.

Capt. Brian Heffner, who leads the detective bureau, said a chance encounter like this is rare but welcome.

The man, 51, was arrested and faces charges of unlawful use of a credit card, the newspaper reports.

Police said the suspect had used the credit card at two area stations, including the one where he was nabbed.