Beer bandit arrested hiding in storm drain

A man accused of burgling beer and going back for seconds was arrested hiding in a storm drain Sunday. 

Maricopa police said the man they arrested stole two packs of beer from a Circle K store on North John Wayne Parkway that day. They said he stole booze from the same shop Saturday, too. 

A probable cause statement obtained by InMaricopa detailed the incident.  

Just after 2 p.m. Saturday, police were called to the convenience store on a report of shoplifting. Officers reviewed the store’s surveillance footage and saw a man double-fisting 12-packs of beer as he exited through the front door without paying. 

A Circle K staffer identified the man in the footage as 53-year-old Stanford M. Lopez. Officers used Arizona Motor Vehicle Department records to confirm it was him. 

At about 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, Lopez tested his luck and returned to the Circle K — swiping two dozen more beers, police said. 

Officers said they found Lopez lying on the ground alongside his stolen goods in a storm canal just south of West Bowlin Road. Lopez was trying to evade police, according to the probable cause statement. 

Lopez admitted to the pair of thefts. He was booked into Pinal County jail for shoplifting. 

When he was arrested, cops also served Lopez a warrant out of Casa Grande for a probation violation. 

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