Shoplifter Flees Into Davenport's, Out Men's Room Window

A shoplifter fleeing East Providence Police pursuit after trying to steal a pair of jeans employed the TV trope of attempting escape through the men's room window Tuesday, to no avail.

On Jan. 14, at 10:11 a.m., police were called to Marshall's department store by the shop's loss prevention officer, who said a six-foot-tall man in a black winter jacket had tried to steal a $19.99 pair of blue jeans. The employee chased him though the lot toward Davenport's restaurant, according to a police report, during which the shoplifter dropped the jeans.

An officer spotted the suspect, later identified as Anthony Miguel Regine, 30, with no known address, running into the rear entrance of the restaurant, tracking him to the men's room. When the officer attempted to enter, the man called out, "I'll be out in a moment," according to the report. 

That was technically the truth, but Regine exited through the men's room window, not the way he'd gone in. Another officer alerted the first that the suspect had slipped out of the restaurant, and the pursuing officer chased Regine outdoors again, tackling him in front of East Providence High School.  

Regine was charged with shoplifting. After a search of his person turned up eight clonazepam tablets, he was also charged with possession of illegal drugs.