A Bloomington man was arrested early Saturday after reportedly stealing a fountain drink and throwing it at another customer.
Officers found Jeremy Simon, 26, walking away from the Marathon gas station on South Walnut Street around 3:30 a.m. after a clerk pressed the store’s panic button.
The clerk, a 37-year-old woman, told police Simon filled up a fountain drink and then demanded she let him use the store phone. She refused.
The woman told officers she pressed the alarm button when Simon’s demands got more forceful.
“He was basically telling her, ‘You’re going to give me that phone,’” Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Cody Forston said.
When Simon realized the woman pressed the alarm, he walked out of the store and asked another customer to use his phone.
A manager at the Marathon said the 62-year-old customer defended the clerk and refused to let Simon use his phone.
Simon then reportedly threw his fountain drink at the customer.
When police caught up with Simon, he admitted to stealing the soda. He was arrested on preliminary charges of theft and disorderly conduct.
Simon was convicted of burglary in Monroe County in 2010 and was charged with robbery resulting in injury in March.
