Officers in Middletown arrested a Philadelphia man after he reportedly threatened loss prevention officers when they confronted him with a cart of stolen groceries.
On Saturday shortly before 3:30 p.m., while enroute to the Giant Food Store on North Flowers Mill Road in response to the report that a robbery had just occurred, Middletown police stopped a vehicle matching the description given by loss prevention officers. David Allen, 48, who also matched the description of the robbery suspect and was the sole occupant of the vehicle, was operating a van marked with ‘Med Ambulance’ decals.
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Additional patrol officers met up with the store’s loss prevention officer after Allen was taken into custody. The loss prevention officer informed them that Allen was observed pushing a cart through the store and selecting numerous items. Allen then passed the registers and exited the store without paying, according to court documents,
Police said when Allen was stopped by loss prevention, he shoved the Giant employee, abandoned the cart and then ran. When he was approached by additional loss prevention officers in the parking lot, Allen alleged threatened to shoot them and then reached into his waistband saying, “I have a gun on me. I’ll pull it out.”
The loss prevention officers out of fear did not attempt to take Allen into custody and instead took down Allen’s vehicle information and called police.
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The merchandise Allen allegedly attempted to steal totaled $326.98, according to court documents.
Allen was charged with robbery, terroristic threats and retail theft. He was arraigned and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $100,000 bail.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
