Will Greenlee

will.greenlee@tcpalm.com

FORT PIERCE — A man accused of boosting Beanee Weenees blamed his inner “thug,” an affidavit states.

Tommy Barber, 55, of North Carolina, was jailed on a misdemeanor theft charge after St. Lucie County sheriff’s deputies foiled an apparent food heist Dec. 28, which occurred around lunchtime, the arrest affidavit states.

Investigators went to the Flying J gas station on North King's Highway where a manager said an employee spotted a man putting cans from a grocery aisle in a duffle bag.

The manager asked the man, later identified as Barber, to return the items, but he refused and walked toward his semi-truck.

The stolen items were identified as Van Camp’s Beanee Weenee — Original, Dinty Moore beef stew and Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs. The pilfered packaged products were valued at a grand total of $8.77.

Deputies stopped a vehicle Barber was driving and found the victuals. Investigators say Barber fessed up to filching the food.

Asked for a reason, Barber did not say he was peckish.

Instead, he told investigators, "It’s just the thug in me."

Beanee Weenee is Van Camp’s “signature beans and sauce with sliced hot dogs already added,” according to the Van Camp website.

“It’s the little can with the funny name, but the serious taste,” the website states.

Dinty Moore beef stew was first introduced in a can in 1935, and became the top selling stew in the country, according to the Hormel Foods website.

Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs evidently is spaghetti and meatballs.