ST. PAUL, Minn. — An off-duty St. Paul police officer was dining with his family on the city’s east side Sunday night when he stopped a man from stealing the restaurant’s tip jar.
According to charging documents, the man grabbed the pot from the counter of Best Steak House. When an employee tried to grab him to prevent the theft, the alleged thief grabbed a steak knife and raised it above his head.
At that point, Jonathan Valencia drew his firearm and, after identifying himself as a St. Paul police officer, told the man to drop the knife. The man immediately let go of the knife, police say.
Employees of Valencia and the restaurant held the man until an officer on duty could take him into custody.
The 39-year-old man faces two charges of first-degree theft. In a post-Miranda interview, the man said he tried to take the tip jar because he was hungry, and pulled the knife because he thought the staff member was going to hurt him.
The maximum sentence for aggravated robbery is twenty years.
WCCO personnel
