Half-naked thief fights with police

When Newsday arrived in front of Sweet Candy clothes store in Capital Plaza, crowds were gathered on both sides of the street as a pants-less man lay on the side of the road, struggling with several plainclothes and uniformed police officers.

According to Kevin Fidley, an employee at Sweet Candy, at about 3 pm, the man tried to shoplift several expensive garments at the store. The employee monitoring the security cameras noticed the man and informed the store’s security, one of which was a plainclothes police officer.

The officer approached the man and attempted to arrest him. However, the thief resisted and began to fight back. Other male employees of the store joined the officer as the man thrashed about, throwing down numerous garments and mannequins as he fought the employees.

As they fought, the men dragged the thief outside the store, down a short flight of stairs, and onto the sidewalk.

However, during the melee, the thief ’s pants was pulled off and his underwear pulled below his buttocks.

“I don’t know if he wanted to try to say he was crazy or what,” Fidley said. “All I know is that fella was real strong and he was in his right sense to be stealing.” The man was eventually taken into police custody.