A Gainesville man was arrested after stealing a tip jar from Larry’s Giant Subs when an employee declined to give him a free drink late Tuesday night.
Troy Allen, 45, was arrested by police at the sub shop located at 1620 W University Ave. at 3:55 a.m., according to an arrest report from the Gainesville Police Department. Larry’s is open until 3 a.m. Three UF alerts sent out regarding the incident.
At 2:43 a.m., Allen asked for a free drink. After being told no, he grabbed a tip jar containing approximately $25 off of the counter, the report read.
An employee followed him outside and was told to “back up” before being struck in the face by Allen with a closed fist, according to the report.
GPD located Allen about an hour after the incident, the report read. The employee and two witnesses positively identified him.
Once handcuffed, Allen told authorities, “I did it. Take me to jail.”
Allen remains in the Alachua County Jail in lieu of a $20,000 bond and faces charges of unarmed robbery and possession or use of drug paraphernalia after police said they found a broken crack pipe.
Contact Samia Lagmis at slagmis@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @SLagmis.
