MIDTOWN — A homeless man arrested for shoplifting told police he had a crack pipe in his butt before pulling it out and smashing it on the ground, the NYPD said.
The 50-year-old suspect was inside a Rite Aid at 241 W. 57th St., at the corner of Eighth Avenue, around 10:20 a.m. on Aug. 19 when an employee saw him take two bottles of body wash valued at $20.96 from a display and stash them in his pants pocket, police and a complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.
The man tried to leave the store, but a security guard stopped him, the NYPD said.
When a police officer arrived at the scene, the man admitted that he had a crack pipe inside his butt, the complaint said.
After the officer asked him to remove it, the man pulled the pipe out of the back of his pants, threw it on the ground and shattered it by stepping on it, the DA’s office said. The pipe contained the residue of crack cocaine.
“I usually pay for it, but the store looked empty," the man told police, referring to the theft.
He was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny and attempted tampering with physical evidence, the DA’s office said.
He pleaded guilty to petit larceny the day of his arrest, and is currently being held at the Anna M. Kross Correctional Facility, according to the DA’s office and city Department of Correction records.
He was expected to appear in court again on Monday, records show.
An attorney for the man declined to comment Monday.
