Tempe Police reported the following incident Sunday:
- A 39-year-old Chandler man was arrested Jan. 24 on the 2300 block of West Baseline Road on suspicion of dangerous drug possession and shoplifting removal of goods, according to a police report.
Officers responded to a call about shoplifting at a Fry’s Electronics, police said.
Security staff told police the man had a sharp blade attached to his cellphone, the report said.
The man had used the blade to open a box with an external battery and put the battery in his right front pocket, police reported.
The battery the man took was worth $94.99, according to the report.
The store’s security staff told police the man had also shoplifted the day before, police said.
The man had used the same blade to steal a cellphone battery and a stylus, the report said.
The day before, the man left with the concealed items before police arrived, according to the report.
An officer contacted the man as he was leaving the store, police reported.
The man said he had taken the battery without paying because he needed it but did not have the money to pay for it, the report said.
A search revealed a baggie with white crystalline substance in his right pocket, according to the report.
The substance tested positive for methamphetamine, police said.
The man told police he used methamphetamine occasionally but did not have a drug problem, the report said.
The man was transported to Tempe City Jail, where he was booked and held to see a judge, according to the report.
Reports compiled by Dulce Paloma Baltazar Pedraza
Reach the reporter at dpbaltaz@asu.edu
