A suspect accused of stealing sandwiches from a convenience store was arrested on Sunday after a Bloomfield officer found him face down and unresponsive in a street nearby. The sandwiches and a bottle of Tito’s were also found in the street.

Joseph James Riley, 27, of Spencer, was arrested by Lt. Marvin Holt of the Bloomfield Police Department last Sunday afternoon, March 29. He was booked into jail around 5 p.m.

Lt. Holt was dispatched around 4 p.m. when an employee at Huck’s Convenience Store on West Main Street in Bloomfield reported a man had just taken several sandwiches and left without paying for them. The suspect was on foot headed toward Cleveland Street wearing a red sweatshirt and blue jeans.

While Lt. Holt was being dispatched, he got a call from a volunteer firefighter who had just left a fire scene and asked Lt. Holt to check on a man he saw lying in the road in the area of North Cleveland and Turner streets.

Lt. Holt said when he arrived in that area, he saw a man, later identified as Joseph James Riley, lying face down in the roadway with three sandwiches near him, as well as a bottle of Tito’s brand of alcohol. Lt. Holt got out of his vehicle and yelled at the man several times to wake him up, but Riley didn’t respond. When Lt. Holt flipped him over, Riley sat up quickly. Lt. Holt requested an ambulance.

Riley didn’t answer when asked if he had paid for the sandwiches. He did not have identification and said he did not have any money. He repeatedly said he didn’t do anything and was very upset, then allegedly became irate.

After ambulance personnel checked on Riley, Lt. Holt and Deputy Jordan Allor of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, who had arrived to assist, handcuffed Riley and walked Riley to a patrol car.

Riley allegedly resisted and is accused of continuously kicking Deputy Allor. Lt. Holt reported Riley tried to bite Deputy Allor several times. Riley is accused of putting up a forceful fight to avoid getting in the patrol vehicle then refusing to get out of the vehicle once they arrived at the Greene County Jail. He’s also accused of headbutting a jail officer during the booking process.

Riley’s bond was set at $11,500 surety with ten percent cash allowed. As of Tuesday evening, he had not yet posted bond and remained in jail.

Riley is facing preliminary charges of:

• Resisting law enforcement – knowingly or intentionally forcibly resists, a Class A misdemeanor,

• Public intoxication that endangers life, a Class B misdemeanor,

• Theft with a prior conviction for either theft or conversion, a Level 6 felony, and

• Two counts of battery against a public safety official, a Level 6 felony.