At Kroger, cookout plans interrupted

A thief at the Kroger in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood loaded a cart full of food and drinks — including beer, shrimp, sodas and chicken — and then pushed past an employee, authorities said.

It happened shortly before 11:45 a.m. Wednesday at the supermarket at 614 Beechwood St., according to a Little Rock Police Department report.

A worker told investigators he was outside on a break when a person came out with a cartload of items. The employee said he heard someone say the food hadn’t been paid for, and the thief then grazed the worker’s side with the cart, pushing him aside, according to the report.

The cart was said to be loaded with more than $200 worth of items including three 30-pack cases of Bud Light, two bags of shrimp, a 3-pound bag of chicken thighs, 5 pounds of wings, two packs of hot dogs and four bricks of cheese.

Employees were able to get the cart away from the shoplifter outside, police said, noting all the food was recovered except for the cheese.

The thief left in a Mercury Marquis driven by another person. A third person who also got in the Mercury was seen leaving the store and appeared to have “something bulky stuck down in the sides of his pants,” the report said.

The report did not provide

descriptions of the three people who left in the Mercury.

A suspect, James Treadway, was found at a tent just north of the fence line, and he was linked to the break-in by of a tattoo on his left arm, police said.