By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
A Salina man was arrested early Wednesday morning after a downtown Salina business was burglarized.
Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester said this morning that officers were sent to Airgas, 300 N. Seventh Street, at approximately 12:40 a.m. Wednesday for the report of an alarm going off. When they arrived, they found the southeast door to the business was shattered, with glass from the door inside. Damage to the door was estimated at $1,000.
Someone had spray painted a number of derogatory terms on the walls and floor, causing an estimated $1,000 in damage, he said. Additionally, a computer monitor and keyboard were damaged for an estimated $1,000 loss.
An employee arrived and said that a can of blue spray paint that had been sitting on a counter was missing.
Officers searched the area and located two people in the 200 block of N. Santa Fe Avenue. Forrester said the two had a shopping cart with two Powermax plasma welders (valued at $1,600), a number of batteries (valued at $50), a tool bag (valued at $100), and an Airgas jacket (valued at $100). Additionally, one of the people was wearing a welding hat valued at $50.
Forrester said an employee identified all of the items as belonging to Airgas.
One of the two people found with the shopping cart, Michael Gonzalez, 20, of Salina, who had blue spray paint on his hands, was arrested in connection to the burglary, Forrester said.
When Gonzalez was being taken from the police vehicle into the Saline County Jail, he allegedly head-butted an officer, causing a laceration on the officer's head.
Gonzalez was arrested on the following requested charges, Forrester said.
●Burglary
●Felony damage to property
●Felony theft
●Battery of a law enforcement officer