Cops: Drunk man stole beer & chips, then resisted arrest in Riverside

A Riverside man was arrested Thursday after first stealing beer and chips, and then fighting with the police officers who tried to arrest him for shoplifting, Southampton Town police.

According to police, a clerk working at the Shell Gas & Convenience Store on Lake Avenue in Riverside spotted the a man stuff a can of Pringles potato chips worth $2.75 under his shirt and leave the store about 11:20 a.m.

A few minutes later, the same man came back into the store and headed to the beverage section, from which he swiped a 24-ounce can of Colt 45 beer, worth $2.00, police said.

Then he ran for the exit.

Only this time the clerk was prepared, and had remote locked the door to detain the man while called 911.

Detectives arrived soon after, and saw the man inside the store, kicking and punching the glass entry door to get out, officials said.

When the clerk opened the door for police, the man, who was intoxicated, continued hitting and fighting with the detectives in attempts to avoid arrest, police said.

He did not.

Instead, Ollie James Booker, 49, of Riverhead was arrested at the scene and charged with petit larceny, resisting arrest and obstructing government administration, police said. Those charges are all misdemeanors.

He was held overnight at police headquarters and arraigned at Southampton Justice Court the next morning.

He was being held at the Suffolk County jail on $2,500 bail.