Following a foot pursuit midday on January 7, police caught and then arrested a New York City man who allegedly stole nearly $1,200 worth of merchandise from a South Main Street drug store in a shoplifting incident.

Police Sergeant Aaron Bahamonde said police received a call for help about 12:12 pm from Walgreens Pharmacy at 49 South Main Street, informing them that a shoplifting theft had occurred there. The store is on the northern corner of South Main Street and Mile Hill Road.

Police were called to investigate after the alleged shoplifter had passed through theft-alarm portals while exiting the store and an alarm sounded, Sgt Bahamonde said.

After the alarm sounded, the store manager confronted the man and the man ran away, the sergeant said.

Initially, it was thought that the man was heading to the nearby Fairfield Hills core campus. Thus, police notified Reed Intermediate School officials there about the situation, Sgt Bahamonde said.

Police formed a security perimeter in the area near the drug store and then worked inward from its boundaries in seeking to apprehend the man for whom they had a physical description, the sergeant said. That search involved checking the buildings in the area, he said.

Seven police officers responded to the emergency call.

After about 30 minutes of searching, Sgt Bahamonde spotted the man hiding behind a stockade fence at Newtown Country Club at 2 Country Club Road, which lies across South Main Street from Walgreens.

After a short foot chase, police caught the man, who put up no resistance, Sgt Bahamonde said.

The Walgreens manager then confirmed that the man whom police had caught was the person who had triggered the theft alarm, the sergeant said.

Police charged Morgan Owens, 33, of Long Island City, Queens, New York, with fourth-degree larceny.

Police found the goods which had had been stolen from the store lying on a property near the drug store. The items, which are worth about $1,200, consisted of eight boxes of One Touch Blue Ultra diabetic test strips, which are used for blood glucose testing, Sgt Bahamonde said.

Police said they found the man’s vehicle parked in the Walgreens parking lot. The vehicle contained what appeared to be several thousand dollars worth of expensive health care items which may be stolen goods, the sergeant said.

Sgt Bahamonde said police are seeking search warrants to search the vehicle, which has been impounded as evidence.

On the night of January 7, Owens was released on $10,000 bail for a January 20 arraignment on the charge in Danbury Superior Court.

Police Officer Larissa Nosal is the investigator in the shoplifting case.