FLATIRON — A thief tried to steal ice cream from a Duane Reade by stuffing it down his pants, and then bit a security guard who tried to stop him from leaving, police said.
Thomas McKnight, 30, walked into the pharmacy at 777 Sixth Ave. between West 26th and West 27th streets on July 8 just after 2:13 p.m., grabbed an unspecified brand of ice cream, and stuffed it into his pants, police said.
When a security guard followed McKnight out of the store and confronted him, he punched the guard in the face, scratched his cheek and sunk his teeth into the man’s arm before police intervened and subdued him, according to a police report.
Prosecutors charged McKnight with two counts of robbery causing a physical injury, records show. He is currently being held at Manhattan Detention Complex on $2,500 bail, and is due back in court on Thursday, according to online court records.
A lawyer for McKnight did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an employee at Duane Reade declined to comment.
This incident was not the first time the location was the target of dairy-loving bandits. On Dec. 18, 2015, a crew of thieves struck the store, with some accomplices distracting employees as others scooped up $1,470 worth of ice cream and fled, police said.
That crew was later busted after being tied to at least six ice cream thefts across Manhattan, according to police.
