that is not what I see anywhere in that video. He picks up the cigs. He hands them to friend behind him. he then reaches far over the counter which places his hands out of view behind display cases. Then he removes his hands and reaches once more out of view over the counter toward where the clerk was located but not visible. The next time you see his hands they are holding the entire small boxlike counter display container containing several more packets of cigs. you then see his hand move toward his pocket as his companion moves forward at that moment blocking the rest of the view of whatever was going on in that pocket. Words are being exchanged and Brown appears angry to me by his body language. At around the same time or shortly after the angry (IMO) exchange you see Mr. Brown's companion step up, reach forward and place something on the counter. It appears to me to be the original pack of cigs handed him by Brown but may be money for that pack he was handed.
What happens next is that Brown appears to be stuffing the several packs of cigs he has reach far across the counter to remove (display box and all) and he appears to drop them on the floor as he is trying to put them into his left pocket. He bends - he picks them up and proceeds to leave the camera view.
Then that is followed by the confrontation at the door where the shop person tries to detain him and stop him from leaving the store without finishing his transaction at which Brown very clearly shoves him, turns away to leave, turns back and says something while exhibiting a physically intimidating posture. Mr. Brown and companion leave the store.
I believe the friend with Brown realized somewhere during the angry exchange that Brown was robbing the store of the cigs, chickened out or was not part of any plan to do so, and placed the original pack handed him by Brown back on the counter. A sort of hey, I am not looking for trouble here gesture.
These are simply my own impressions of what the video portrays. you obviously see it very differently. But just because some headline someone says something is a fact does not make it so. Unless you can show me on that video where money leaves his hands and goes to the clerk it is simply your opinion based on someone else's opinion. MOO