A trip to City Market ended in a knife threat and an arrest Monday morning after a Burlington man tried to walk out of the South End store with a cart full of unpaid groceries, according to Burlington Police.

Officers responded to the store at 82 South Winooski Avenue around 8:10 a.m. on August 10 after a loss prevention employee attempted to stop a customer who was leaving without paying for more than $90 in groceries. When the employee tried to take the cart back, police say the man pulled out a knife and threatened to hurt him. The employee held onto the cart and the stolen food as the suspect took off.

Police tracked the man down a short distance away on College Street. He tried to run, but officers caught up with him quickly and took him into custody without further trouble.

The suspect has been identified as 44-year-old Shawn Foster, who is listed as homeless. He’s now facing charges of assault, robbery, and resisting arrest, and is being held without bail. Foster is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, August 11.

Court records cited by police paint a picture of a long history of run-ins with the law: Foster has racked up eleven felony convictions, eighteen misdemeanor convictions, fourteen failures to appear in court, and two prior escape charges in Vermont.

The case remains under investigation by Officer J. Meierdiercks of the Burlington Police Department.

This account is based on a preliminary police media release; details are subject to change as the investigation continues.