While assigned to uniformed patrol Car W7 on 12/23/2015 at 10:48 A.M. I was dispatched to Stop & Shop on Alewife Brook Parkway, along with Car W5 Ofc. McCarey and Ofc. Bork. Upon my arrival I spoke to the store manager who stated he had attempted to stop a male who left the store with merchandise that he did not pay for. The manager stated the person fled on Rt. 16 towards Massachusetts Ave. The Manager described the person as a black male, thin build, wearing red pants, fleece vest, blue knit hat and that he was riding a white bicycle. Some minutes later I received a radio transmission, from Car W5, that they had a person matching the description stopped on Mass Ave by Rt 16 in Arlington. I then proceeded to the location of Car W5. I observed that the suspect was sitting on his bicycle eating a lime and that he had a bag containing groceries hooked around the handle bars. I then asked the suspect if he was at Stop & Shop and if he had paid for the grocery items. The suspect then began ranting “I got no money, I sleep out in the rain, I was hungry, I had to feed myself, what would you do”.           

   I returned to Stop & Shop with the bag of groceries. I then spoke to the manager, XXXXX, who identified the groceries as store merchandise. XXXXX stated that the suspect had been in the store a week prior and on that day he shoplifted merchandise and when he was confronted by store employees he refused to be detained spit on the employee and fled the area. Being aware of the past incident, On this day XXXXX watched the suspect place miscellaneous grocery items in a bag walk past the cash registers and depart the store without paying for the merchandise. XXXXX then attempted to stop the suspect and at this time the suspect began yelling at him and then spit in his face and fled down Rt 16 on a bicycle.  

   The defendant was subsequently arrested and transported, via Car#200 Ofc Difava, to the Somerville Police Station where he was booked by Lt. A. Rymill.