Man arrested in Salinas after allegedly stealing Cheetos, showing gun at Safeway

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) A man has been arrested on robbery charges after he allegedly tried to steal Cheetos and alcohol from the Safeway on Constitution Boulevard.

Police said that at around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, they responded to a report of a man with a gun inside the Safeway. The suspect had reportedly been in line to buy a bag of Cheetos, but when he got to the register, he lifted his shirt to show the handle of a pistol in his waistband and told the cashier to pay for the Cheetos.

The cashier refused to pay for the Cheetos, and police said the suspect walked away and into a restroom. He then reportedly left the restroom, grabbed another bag of Cheetos and left without paying.

After the suspect left, the cashier told a supervisor and they called police. While they waited for officers to arrive, they saw that the suspect had returned, but they avoided contact with him because they thought he may be armed. When officers got there, they said they saw the suspect walking past the registers and arrested him when he was identified.

Police said he did not have a gun, but he did have several bottles of alcoholic drinks that he did not pay for. Officers looked for the gun, but they did not find it.

The man was arrested and booked into the Monterey County Jail.