Occurred Wednesday, June 28, 2012, 11:00am, 5313 Saratoga Boulevard Theft, 1206270072 & 1206270059

A 42-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for stealing 11 packages of meat valued at $352 then hitching a ride with a stranger to leave the store.

Corpus Christi Police responded to a theft complaint at the Stripes at Everhart and Snowgoose. Stripes employees told police 42-year-old Gabriel Torres (5/2/1970) loaded several packages of drinks from an outside display into his gold 2001 Mercedes C320 without paying for the drinks. The Stripes Clerk told police Torres has done this type of theft seven previous times and never paid for the drinks. The Stripes employee confronted and made Torres return the drinks.

A Stripes employee followed Torres from the store to the HEB on Saratoga. Corpus Christi Police located Torres’ unoccupied car in the HEB parking lot. A police officer saw Torres as a passenger of another car and Torres was stopped.

The driver told police Torres just asked for a ride and placed a blue plastic container in the back seat of the car. Police discovered the blue plastic container was full of meat that was stolen from the HEB. Torres stole the container and the meat, and then asked for the ride from the man after police were seen next to Torres’ car.

Torres was arrested for theft and delivered to the city detention center and the driver unaware of the theft was released.