By Brandi Makuski

A Stevens Point man faces as much as 14 years behind bars after police say he was a party to stealing more than $400 worth of canned soda and beer.

Allen Johnson, 23, was arrested last July after a caller reported a burglary in progress at the Pfiffner Building, 401 Franklin St. sometime after midnight on July 5, 2015.

According to the criminal complaint, a Stevens Point policeman noticed Johnson leaving the Pfiffner Building, then drop the items he was carrying and ran to a vehicle on the east side of the building. The vehicle was an 1984 Chevy with collector plates. Another man and a woman were waiting in the vehicle.

The officer instructed Johnson to turn off the vehicle and hand over the keys; when he did, the male passenger whispered something to Johnson, according to the complaint, and “suddenly opened the passenger door” and ran from the tuck, moving westbound on Franklin.

As another officer responded to the scene, Johnson then exited the vehicle and also ran westbound on Franklin. Both men were later taken into custody.

The woman in the vehicle told police that she and Johnson had come to the park to give the male passenger a ride home after Riverfront Rendezvous had ended. She told police she fell asleep while they waited for their friend, and woke to the sound of the friend entering the vehicle yelling, “Go, go, go”.

Items confiscated during Johnson’s arrest include multiple bottle of Coke, Redd’s Strawberry Ale, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, and various other canned soda and alcoholic beverages, totaling about $403.

Johnson is charged with burglary of a building/dwelling, party to the crime, misdemeanor theft, party to the crime and resisting an officer. If convicted he could face up to 14 years behind bars and up to $45,000 in fines.

He returns to court for his pre-trial conference on July 25.