Man arrested in Starbucks theft, assault

Police have arrested a 26-year-old man accused of stealing a tip jar from a Huntington Beach Starbucks and assaulting a customer who trailed him as he fled the coffee shop

According to Huntington Beach police, Francisco Cardenas of Santa Ana grabbed the tip jar at the Starbucks near Adams Avenue and Brookhurst Street at about 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

A customer confronted Cardenas, and Cardenas picked up a 40-pound metal sign, struck the patron on the head and fled on a bicycle, police said.

The customer was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Officers found Cardenas about a mile away in Fountain Valley, and he was arrested on suspicion of theft and assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held with bail set at $25,000, according to Orange County jail records.

Matt Hamilton/Los Angeles Times