Eureka Police arrested a 59-year-old man, who appeared to be homeless, after he allegedly attempted to steal donation boxes from the McDonald’s restaurant, 5699 Fox Creek Road. The man had put one of the boxes from the service counter into his backpack but was stopped by a manager before leaving the restaurant, police reported.
Officers were called at about 9:40 a.m. April 12 about the attempted theft. The manager said he saw the man trying to take one of the donations boxes near a cash register and confronted him, the report said.
The manager then noticed the other donation box on the service counter was missing, and the man allegedly removed that box from a backpack he was carrying. The man then left the restaurant and was seen riding a blue bicycle east on West Fifth Street, according to the report.
It was not known how much money was in either of the donation boxes, the report said.
An officer saw the man riding a blue bike on West Fifth Street and stopped him. The man said he was going to take something from McDonald’s, but he was stopped, the report said.
Surveillance video allegedly showed the man putting one of the donation boxes in his backpack, and the video showed the manager confronting the man, according to the report.
The man was arrested and taken to the Police Station, where he was booked and released with a summons to appear in Eureka Municipal Court for alleged attempted stealing, Capt. Michael Werges said.