Alleged Gun-Toting Beer Thief Busted in Springtown

After allegedly swiping beer and flashing a handgun at a convenience-store clerk, a Livermore man was nabbed by police in less than an hour and less than a mile away.

Leonard Ilgunas, 36, was arrested early Tuesday on charges of second-degree robbery, driving under the influence, carrying a loaded firearm in public and carrying a concealed weapon, according to the

Shortly after 2 a.m. at the Springtown-district on Bluebell Drive, a Chevron clerk saw a man steal beer from the store and followed him into the parking lot to confront him, Sgt. Josh Ratcliffe said. The suspected thief lifted his shirt, displaying a gun in his waistband before driving off, Ratcliffe said.

A witness flagged down a patrol car in the area and provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle, he said.

Officers apprehended Ilgunas, who matched the description, at 2:45 a.m., a half-mile away  as he was driving in the 4700 block of First Street.

Arresting officers recovered a loaded handgun from the trunk of Ilgunas' vehicle and an empty beer can from inside the car, Ratcliffe said.

He was booked at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and bail was set at $131,560, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at the Gale-Schenone Hall of Justice in Pleasanton.