A would-be shoplifter was captured when he ran out of a Hillsborough County gas station and into a group of deputies, officials said.
Deputies said Emmanuel Camper, 28, walked out of the Citgo Quick Mart without paying for his beer at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. As he went through the front door, deputies said the clerk yelled, "He was stealing beer!"
At the time, several uniformed deputies were standing outside the store, conducting an unrelated investigation involving an incident that had occurred in the parking lot.
Apparently Camper, who was already intoxicated, didn't see the deputies standing near the doorway or the marked patrol units with overhead lights on, officials said.
Camper was arrested and taken to Orient Road Jail on charges of petit theft.