Thief's Supermarket Caper Foiled: Cops

CHELMSFORD, MA — A Lowell man assaulted a Market Basket cashier, snatched a bag of money and made a run for it down Route 3 before he was caught hiding in a pile of leaves, police said.

Arthur Bettencourt, 59, was charged with unarmed robbery and assault and battery in connection with the Saturday night incident at the Chelmsford Street supermarket.

Officers were called out to Market Basket shortly after 7:30 p.m. and learned an older man in a black tank top and gray shorts grabbed the money bag from the cashier and fled out a side door, police said.

"He was last seen running across the Route 3 southbound on-ramp, jumping a guardrail and entering the wooded area between the Route 3 north and south ramps," police said in a media release.

A Massachusetts State Police helicopter and state police dog, as well as a Chelmsford Police Department dog, were used to track the man, later identified as Bettencourt, and within minutes he was found hiding in a pile of leaves, police said.

In addition to assaulting the cashier who had been holding the money bag, Bettencourt also assaulted an employee who attempted to thwart his escape, police said, but neither required medical attention.

"A speedy response and thorough investigation quickly led us to our suspect,” said Chelmsford Police Chief Colin Spence. “Chelmsford officers collaborated with Massachusetts State Police, and through that coordinated effort, the suspect was located and captured without injury to him, bystanders or police on the scene.”