Cops: Riverhead man caught stealing from supermarket, resisted arrest

A Riverhead man with a history of arrests for theft and fleeing police was arrested again Monday after he allegedly walked out of a supermarket with a shopping cart full of stolen goods, then resisted a police officer who was trying to handcuff him.

Kirk Alfaro — a 47-year-old resident with six other active cases pending in Riverhead Town Court — is now being held in jail on $5,000 after his most recent arrest, authorities said.

According to a police report, a Riverhead cop was called to the Stop and Shop parking lot about 1 p.m. for a minor traffic accident.

While taking down information about the crash, a woman shopping at the supermarket told the cop that she saw Mr. Alfaro walk out of the store with a shopping cart’s worth of items he didn’t pay for, police said. The shopper pointed which way Mr. Alfaro went and the cop caught up with him as he appeared to be getting into a vehicle.

The cop told Mr. Alfaro to stop, but he was “uncooperative,” according to a police report. The police officer attempted to arrest Mr. Alfaro, but he allegedly resisted and refused to be handcuffed. Twice, the police officer and Mr. Alfaro wrestled on the ground before the cop was able to subdue him and call for backup.

Mr. Alfaro was arrested and charged with petit larceny, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest. He was arraigned in town court and taken to jail.

The arrest was far from Mr. Alfaro’s first run-in with law enforcement. In February 2012, he was arrested for walking out of the Route 58 Target with a bundle of electronic equipment — including two home theater systems and two televisions — without paying. Mr. Alfaro was originally charged with felony grand larceny, but pleaded down to misdemeanor petit larceny and was released on time already served in jail.

He has several other cases pending in Riverhead Town court, a court clerk said, though specifics on those charges were not immediately available.

Mr. Alfaro has also been arrested by Southampton Town police. Last March, he was caught speeding on Old Quogue Road about 9 p.m. and led police on a chase, according to a news release. He was eventually caught and arrested for fleeing police, as well as allegedly causing “several thousand dollars worth of damage” to a building and vehicles parked for repair at an automotive business in Riverhead, Southampton Town police said.

The outcome of that case was not immediately available.