Man arrested after allegedly skipping meal tab, fleeing from police in Miner

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

MINER, Mo., (KBSI) — A 31-year-old man was arrested Saturday after allegedly skipping out on a restaurant bill and leading officers on a foot chase through a neighborhood, according to the Miner Police Department.

Officers responded to Lambert’s Café on Oct. 18 after receiving a report of a male subject who had failed to pay for a meal. Police located the suspect, identified as Junior Warbritton, walking nearby. When an officer attempted to speak with him, Warbritton allegedly ran from the scene on foot.

The officer chased Warbritton into a residential neighborhood but lost sight of him after he jumped a wooden fence and entered a backyard.

Additional units from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, and an off-duty Miner police officer responded to assist. The department also deployed a drone to aid in the search.

Authorities located Warbritton hiding in another backyard. He fled once again but was taken into custody shortly afterward.

Warbritton has been charged in Scott County Circuit Court with one count of stealing and one count of resisting arrest by fleeing. He is being held at the Scott County Jail on a $1,500 cash-only bond.

All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.