This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This is the tale of a man who really wanted to go to jail.
Salt Lake City police say a 29-year-old man walked into a 7-Eleven store at 1353 W. Indiana Avenue about 10 p.m. Tuesday, took two 40-ounce bottles of beer from the cooler and then told the clerk that he wasn't paying.
If he didn't like it, the beer thief said, the clerk could call the cops. The man said he would be waiting for police in a nearby park.
The clerk called 911 and officers found the man right where he said he would be. When police arrived, the suspect approached one officer and challenged him to a fight, and when a second officer moved to back him up the man allegedly took a swing at them.
After a brief struggle, police took the man into custody, handcuffed him and booked him into Salt Lake County Jail. He was still being held Wednesday on suspicion of assault on a police officer, retail theft, resisting arrest and having open container of an alcoholic beverage in a public place.