Man and woman use knife to steal alcohol from Allen Park Meijer

Police say shoplifting is nothing new but these people took it to a whole other level when they pulled a knife on security.

Take a look at this man - and the woman beside him in the foreground - Allen Park police say their alleged crime went from retail fraud to armed robbery when security at a Meijer store noticed them stuffing bottles of alcohol into their bag the afternoon of July 16.

"Loss prevention agents said we know you have some merchandise you didn't pay for we'd like you to come back to our office," said Det. Lt. David Williams, Allen Park police.

But police say this guy wasn't about to go anywhere - but out the door.

"The man that was with them pulled out a pocket knife and warned them, saying get away from me or I'll stab you with this knife," Williams said.

Police say the suspects took off in a white minivan and sources say they may have done this before. Fortunately, the loss prevention officer wasn't hurt.

"He made a good decision he backed off - it's not worth a couple bottles of alcohol," Williams said. "You can be just as dead from a knife as you can from a gun."

All this over $200 worth of booze - that could land him behind bars for a long time.

"Very seldom are weapons involved in any retail fraud that we experience," Williams said. "He needs to be held responsible for his actions - we have some good quality surveillance videos - some close ups of his face as he's exiting the store.

"We'll find out who he is."

Anyone with information is asked to call Allen Park police.