Crime Brief: Suspect Chews on Arrest After 'Bag of Chips' Excuse

A 56-year-old New Baltimore man set off security alarms around 4:45 p.m. June 23 at the  on 23 Mile after he allegedly swiped several items worth about $280, said Thursday.

When an officer found the man shortly after walking southbound on Jefferson Avenue, he claimed he had not been in the store. But his female companion admitted to police that she just filled out a job application there, according to a police report.

The suspect was carrying a soft cloth bag with him and, when the officer asked him what was inside it, he said it was a bag of chips. The officer got permission to look inside the bag and recovered several new packages of batteries marked "Rite Aid" and a new cell phone charger, the report states.

He also had four stolen cell phones and two more chargers in his front pockets along with the phones' instructional manuals and several pairs of "Iron Man" sunglasses in his back pockets, police said.

Although he initially gave police a false name, a background check showed the suspect was a parole absconder for a case in Lansing. He was placed in Macomb County Jail and was expected to be charged with retail fraud and giving false identification to police, the report states.

For questions about this blotter, contact christy.arboscello@patch.com.

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