Repeat truck stop thief arrested in Ripon

Ripon police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of stealing from a truck stop, under the same circumstances he had three times before.

Lt. Steve Merchant said each time the suspect used a backpack or duffel bag from the truck stop to fill with more merchandise.

On Tuesday afternoon the suspect had allegedly put on a jacket sold at Love’s Travel Stop on Colony Road and started filling a duffel bag with items. Merchant said the manager recognized the suspect from previous thefts and an employee called police.

The suspect apparently noticed the employee calling police, dropped the duffel bag and fled in the stolen jacket.

He went across the street to the Flying J Travel Plaza where he allegedly started filling a backpack with tools until police arrived. He again ditched the bag, and this time the jacket, and fled through the back door, Merchant said.

The suspect, Jeffrey Alan Berry, 49, of Stockton was met outside by another officer and taken into custody. He was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting.

Merchant said Ripon police have arrested Berry on three previous occasions since 2007 for thefts at truck stops.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Repeat truck stop thief arrested in Ripon."