A 33-year-old Auburn Hills man is facing criminal charges for allegedly attempting to steal more than $1,700 in goods from Oxford’s Meijer store.

Oakland County Sheriff’s officers are seeking a warrant for retail fraud in the first degree, possession of prescription drugs as well as fleeing an eluding an officer.

The alleged retail fraud, which happened near midnight on Saturday, Nov. 10, was a year in the making.

According to the sheriff’s report, loss prevention employees at Meijer told officers the man in question has been stealing things from the store for the past year.

Because of this, employees have been keeping an eye on him and called police as soon as he left the store that night. Employees told deputies the suspects had a beard and was wearing a red knit cap with a flannel shirt.

When officers arrived, they noticed a man who fit the description getting into a green car. According to the report, the man was emptying the contents of his cart into the car and none of the items were in Meijer grocery bags. Deputies approached him and asked if he had purchased the items, to which he said yes. The report stated he told officers he left his receipt inside the store.

Officers attempted to arrest the man, but the report stated he “pulled away” and “fled on foot.” An officer attempted to use his Taser on the man, but it did not reach him. When the man fell while running toward the building, deputies were able to apprehend him.

While deputies were searching the suspect, they found a bottle of prescription pills with someone else’s name on it. At that time, the man started complaining of chest pains, so Oxford firefighters transported him to McLaren Oakland hospital, according to the report.

The allegedly stolen items worth a total of $1,711. They included a purse, wireless router, knife, cellphone, Ray Ban sunglasses, GPS, flat-screen television, laptop computer, Xbox games and a sound bar. The man was also allegedly in possession of someone else’s credit card and someone else’s wallet. He told officers he planned to give the wallet back to its owner after finding it in a bag, but hadn’t “got around to it.”

The man told officers he stole the items to fund his crack cocaine habit and admitted to previously committing retail fraud, the report stated. He said he would sell the stolen items online. The man told officers his drug dealer would direct him to steal certain items from Meijer.

After receiving medical treatment, the man was transported to Oakland County Jail.