A 35-year-old Bainbridge Island man was charged with third-degree assault after he allegedly grappled with a JC Penney employee who stopped him after suspecting him of shoplifting.
Dustin Gene Black was charged with felony assault July 11 in Kitsap County District Court.
According to an investigation report from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, police were called to the JC Penney at the Kitsap Mall in Silverdale just after 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 9.
A loss prevention officer said he had been watching Black walk around the store, and saw the Bainbridge man grab items off the shelves without looking at the prices.
Black allegedly picked up a crew shirt, knit boxers, Nike crew tees, cargo shorts and other items and then walked out of the store without paying for the merchandise.
The items were valued at $195.
The employee, 26, followed Black out of the store and confronted him. The employee told police that Black dropped the items and then charged at him.
The employee was able to wrap up Black in a bear hug and then fell to the ground as other security guards came to the scene.
When questioned by police, Black allegedly apologized to the employee for fighting with him and said he was having hard times and wanted to get some new clothes so he could go to job interviews.
Black was arrested for assault and theft and booked into Kitsap County Jail. Bail was set at $10,000.
Black is also facing criminal complaints for driving with a revoked license in the first degree, and for operation of a vehicle without an ignition interlock device.
He was charged with those offenses in early June in Kitsap County District Court. Those complaints stem from a May 13 traffic stop on Miller Bay Road when police pulled over a vehicle with a brake light out and Black was allegedly behind the wheel.
Black told police he was driving a friend to court, and that she couldn’t drive because she was sick. Police soon learned his license had been revoked in 2014 and had been ordered by the court to have an ignition interlock device.
Conviction of third-degree assault can result in a maximum prison sentence of five years and a $10,000 fine.
