Police catch shoplifting suspect at Atwater clothing store

Atwater officers caught a shoplifter in the act at a store that’s been hit by shoplifters multiple times in the past few months, the Police Department reported.

Police responded to Envy Fine Clothing on Bell Lane at 9:15 a.m. Saturday after the owner reported two suspicious men, police Chief Samuel Joseph said. The officers parked their patrol cars out of sight and watched a man go to his car, where the store owner confronted him briefly.

When the driver saw police, he tried to flee in a red SUV, crossing the parking lot, driving across the Starbucks drive-thru driveway and jumping a curb, Joseph said.

When he stopped the vehicle, officers ordered the man, identified by police as 25-year-old David Ruggiero, to get out of the car and on the ground. Police found a shirt that had been stolen from the store and said it was possible he may have taken other items that he dropped before he was captured, authorities said.

Police also detained 26-year-old Garrick Hymer, who accompanied Ruggiero, filing a complaint with the District Attorney’s Office after finding a dagger hidden in Hymer’s sock.

Ruggiero was cited on suspicion of shoplifting and drug possession after police found marijuana and a syringe inside the vehicle, Joseph said.

Investigations into previous thefts at the store are ongoing, and police are continuing to work with the store owner to prevent future thefts. In October, two men made off with more than $2,300 in designer jeans, police said.

According to Merced County jail records, Ruggiero has been arrested numerous times on theft and drug charges since 2012.

This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Police catch shoplifting suspect at Atwater clothing store."