Bud Light thief assaulted cop

An accused thief snagged an extra charge after he allegedly injured a cop. His friend staged a successful escape — for now. 

Maricopa police arrested 26-year-old Tyson T. Whitman Monday after they said he stole cases of Bud Light and tried to make a run for it, according to a police report obtained by InMaricopa. 

Cops received a report of shoplifting just before 5:30 a.m. at Circle K on North John Wayne Parkway. The caller said two men stole three 12-packs of Bud Light and a bag of chips valued at $35.66. 

Security footage later showed Whitman grabbing the beer and chips. 

Maricopa Police Officer Erick Solis said he spotted the two men walking in a wash along John Wayne Parkway, carrying what he believed were the stolen goods. 

Solis lost sight of Whitman after he made a U-turn, according to a police report. The second man, who cops did not identify, crossed Alterra Parkway before Solis lit him up with red and blue lights. 

The man dropped two cases of beer and started running, according to police documents. He jumped a fence into the Alterra neighborhood near Desert Garden Road. 

Police spotted Whitman coming out of the wash. When told to get on the ground, Whitman allegedly resisted arrest. Officer Trevor Burns helped put Whitman in cuffs. 

Whitman allegedly knocked Solis onto the ground in the road. 

“I landed on top of him, and my left hand got caught underneath him,” Solis said in a police report. His hand was injured. 

Whitman only surrendered when Burns threatened him with a taser. 

Whitman was arrested and booked into Pinal County jail on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and shoplifting. He faces six years in prison. 

The other man was neither named nor arrested. According to police documents, it seems the cops couldn’t chase him down and he got away. 

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