Stolen liquor was back in a South Pasadena supermarket Thursday and the alleged booze thief was behind bars after a wild foot chase through a normally quiet residential neighborhood.
The 20-year-old man suspected of stealing the liquor was arrested after a ground and air search.
The theft occurred at the Vons supermarket at 1129 S. Fair Oaks Ave., according to South Pasadena police. Just what kind of liquor was taken was not revealed.
Officers caught up with the suspect, later identified as Lafayette Jackson, in the 1000 block of Fair Oaks Avenue, but he fled east into the 1000 block of Brent Avenue, running through backyards, police said.
“Officers lost sight of the suspect in the 1000 block of Park Avenue, but were advised by (witnesses) that he was seen running eastbound through Oxley Alley,” according to a police statement.
A check of the area with the assistance of an air unit turned up nothing.
As officers continued to search, a resident from the 1700 block of Virginia Place reported seeing a man matching the suspect’s description in her rear yard.
Jackson was found hiding in a tool shed in the Wednesday afternoon incident.
He was taken into custody without further incident and the liquor was returned to Vons.
–City News Service