Man Steals Liquor Bottle, Hits ShopRite Worker In Head: Police

LIBERTY, NY — A Sullivan County man was accused of hitting a grocery store employee with a stolen bottle of liquor.

The Village of Liberty Police Department said officers were sent around 9 a.m. Monday to the ShopRite store in the village for a report of an assault in progress.

When they got there, officers said they found someone who had suffered an injury to the back of his head and another person who was being restrained by several bystanders.

The person being restrained, police said, was Kip Banks, 31, of Liberty. He was taken into custody by police.

The investigation revealed that Banks had forcibly stolen a large glass liquor bottle from a neighboring business, police said, and then went into ShopRite and assaulted an employee by hitting him in the head with the bottle.

Authorities said the assault was interrupted by several customers and employees in the store who restrained Banks until the police arrived.

Banks was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, felonies, and second-degree menacing, a misdemeanor.

He was arraigned in the Town of Liberty Court and sent to Sullivan County Jail without bail.