IU students try to steal alcohol from grocery store

Three IU students were hoping to drink Crown Royal, Jagermeister and Amaretto for free Saturday night.

Brian Durbin, 19, faces preliminary charges of theft, a class D felony, and illegal possession of alcohol, a class C misdemeanor. Tyler Brown, 19, faces preliminary charges of conspiracy to commit theft, a class D felony, and illegal possession of alcohol, a class C misdemeanor. Jonathan Radcliffe, 18, faces preliminary charges of conspiracy to commit theft, a class D felony, and illegal possession of alcohol, a class C misdemeanor.

Officers were dispatched to the Kroger grocery store at 528 S. College Ave., where security guard Mark Miller was holding the three men. Miller told police the students came into the store, got a shopping cart and put miscellaneous grocery items in the cart along with the three bottles of alcohol. The males then approached the U-Scan check out lane, where customers are able to scan and pay for their groceries without the assistance of a cashier. The security guard witnessed the suspects trying to bag the unpaid alcohol bottles along with the other grocery items.

At that point the three males were detained by Miller while the police were called.
During the interview with police, Durbin said it was his idea to steal the alcohol. Brown and Radcliffe also told police it was Durbin’s idea.

The students told police it was Radcliffe’s job to block the cart from the cashier while Durbin checked out.

All three were arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail.