Police: Man tosses bottle, hurls gesture at store manager

A drunken 39-year-old man hurled a shoplifted bottle and an obscene gestured at a store manager, resulting in his arrest on an assault charge, police said.

Ricardo J. Vavages was booked into Pinal County Jail after he tried to shoplift items on March 16 from the Circle K convenience store, 18141 N. John Wayne Parkway. He was also charged with two counts of shoplifting and disorderly conduct.

Police, in a probable cause statement, said while Vavages was initially detained, an investigator reviewed video footage inside the store, showing he shoplifted items there. When the manager approached him, Vavages is accused of throwing a bottle at the manager “in an attempt to harm her.”

Police said he was also “verbally disruptive” and “aggressive in demeanor” toward the manager.

The investigator said Vavages was found to have a criminal history of theft dating back five years.