MANCHESTER - A store clerk caught a shoplifter stuffing items into his pockets and those of a young boy Tuesday at a Bridge Street convenience store, police said.

The theft was reported just after 7 p.m. at TN Convenience Store, 90 Bridge St. A 30-year-old clerk told police a man entered the store with a small child. He watched the man take items from the shelves and put them into the child's coat pockets and his own. The clerk confronted the shoplifter and wrestled with him. The man, however, broke free and ran from the store with the child.

Some of the stolen merchandise recovered included Tootsie Roll pops and coffee filters.

The thief is described as a white man, 22 to 32 years old, bald or whose head is shaved, and clean shaven. He wore a black leather jacket over a white, long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, black shoes and a baseball cap worn backwards bearing an unknown insignia. He has tattoos along both arms and all over his back, which were revealed when the clerk pulled off some of his clothing during the struggle.

The child was a small boy wearing a red and black jacket and multicolored winter hat.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 668-8711. Anonymous tips for cash rewards may be made through Manchester Crimeline at 624-4040 or online at manchestercrimeline.org .