Santa Maria police announced they arrested a Lompoc man for alleged robbery and probation violation after he reportedly stole a few pairs of jeans from a store.
Police said the incident happened at a clothing store in the 1300 block of South Broadway on Thursday, Feb. 29.
The suspect, now identified as 30-year-old Gabriel Contreras from Lompoc, walked into the store with another man and left the business without paying roughly $500 worth of Levi jeans.
Officers said the store's loss prevention personnel tried to detain Contreras and his associate in the parking lot but stopped when Contreras made verbal threats to shoot the staff and simulated having a firearm.
Contreras and his associate left the parking lot with the stolen jeans, according to the police.
With the help of surveillance video and the Lompoc Police Department, Contreras was found and arrested Monday.
Police said Contreras was just released from prison just six days before the theft occurred on Feb. 23, and was on supervised probation.
Contreras was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on robbery and probation violation charges, police said.
