HOPATCONG -- A borough man was charged last week for taking three cans of soup from a donation box, police said.

David Hughes, 61, of Hopatcong, was walking down the ramp of the Hopatcong Post Office on April 11 holding two cans of Campbell's soup and one can of Progresso when Officer Vincent Pullman saw him, Lt. Thomas Kmetz said in a news release.

Pullman, Kmetz said, was aware Hughes had an active $750 warrant out for failure to appear on an assault charge, so he stopped Hughes and spoke to him about the warrant.

Hughes told the officer he had to return the soup before he could go with Pullman, which he admitted to taking from the donation bin inside the post office, Kmetz said.

After Hughes was arrested on the warrant, Fullman contacted the Hopatcong Women's Club about the incident and found out there was an ongoing issue with people taking from the donation bins.

The donated items were intended to go to the Westside Methodist Church in Hopatcong.

"However, people cannot just grab items from the donation bin," Kmetz added.

Hughes was charged with theft and was taken to Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility on the active warrant. The soup cans were returned to the Hopatcong Women's Club.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.