Tempe Police reported the following incidents Wednesday:
- A 28-year-old transient man was arrested Saturday evening on suspicion of shoplifting bottles of alcohol from a Safeway grocery store on Broadway and Rural roads, police reported.
The man was attempting to steal two bottles of Black Velvet Whisky, priced at $39.98 a piece, according to a police report.
An undercover shopper, known as a loss prevention agent, witnessed the man putting the bottles into his backpack, police reported.
When the man walked past all the cashiers, the prevention agent stopped him and notified Tempe Police, police reported.
An officer ran a background check on the man and found he had previous charges of shoplifting — once in Chandler and twice in Mesa, according to the report.
- A 34-year-old transient man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault of a Tempe Police officer on Sunday evening on the 1600 block of South Hardy Drive, police reported.
The officer responded to an off-duty officer’s call of a suspicious man wearing a red and white-stripped shirt walking around West 16th Street, according to a police report.
The man was allegedly walking around the street attempting to open car and house doors, police reported.
The officer spotted a man fitting the description on Hardy Drive and asked him to stop walking but the man refused, according to a report.
The man eventually sat down after multiple requests, police reported.
The officer ran a background check of the man, which revealed a previous shoplifting and burglary charge from the night before, according to the report.
When the officer walked up behind the man, he jumped up and swung at the officer but missed, police reported.
The man faced the officer in a fighting stance, and the officer pulled out a Taser device and subdued the man, according to a report.
He was taken into custody at the Tempe City Jail, according to a report.
- A 30-year-old Mesa man was arrested during a traffic stop on Apache Boulevard for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia early Saturday morning, police reported.
The officer witnessed the suspect and his vehicle passenger purchase the drug from an unknown subject at a gas station on Price and Broadway roads, according to a police report.
The officer pulled the man over on Apache Boulevard, and when the officer approached the vehicle he could smell marijuana coming from inside, police reported.
The man admitted to placing the drug in the back of his pants, between his butt cheeks once he saw the police vehicle, according to a report.
The man was booked and released from the Tempe Police Department, police reported.
Reports compiled by Shawn Raymundo. Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.eu