A Wisconsin man was cited for theft after he drank beer while locked overnight in a Kwik Trip store's beer cooler. Photo by Minnun1456/Wikimedia Commons

Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A man who found himself locked overnight inside a Wisconsin store's beer cooler was cited for theft when he helped himself to some beverages.

Police said Jeremy Van Ert, 38, told officers he was shopping at the Kwik Trip store Tuesday night in Marshfield and ended up trapped in the store's cooler when employees locked it for the night at 11:50 p.m.


A Kwik Trip manager said a customer told employees about 5:50 a.m. Wednesday that there appeared to be a man locked in the cooler and he left the store in a hurry when employees opened the door.

The manager said the man had an 18 ounce bottle of Icehouse Beer and three cans of malt beverage Four Loko while locked in the cooler and had knocked over a stack of boxes, destroying three cans of beer.

The man was cited for retail theft for not paying for the beverages when he left the store. Police said Van Ert was arrested on a probation hold from an unrelated case. Police said the conditions of Van Ert's probation banned him from consuming alcohol.