On a summer day in 2022, Mill Valley, California police received an interesting report. A local grocery store was missing some wine. Well, a lot of vino: 21 bottles, to be exact. Considering a whole case usually contains 12 750-ml bottles, the suspect drove off with a couple of cases of good stuff. The store described the driver to authorities.

According to the department’s news release, a Mills Valley police officer quickly located the suspect heading out of town via Shoreline Highway. They saw the cruiser, though, and got to speeding away…via the oncoming traffic lane.

For whatever reason, the attending officer ultimately chose not to pursue the suspect. Typically, these decisions are based on a risk assessment. Later, though, a second officer spotted the suspect’s car hidden in a seemingly random driveway. The residence wasn’t connected to the suspect.

It almost seems like the driver was caught party planning: After an initial investigation, authorities found all 21 bottles of wine and then some. The suspect also had five different illegal or controlled substances. The driver apparently had a history of similar activities around town. They were arrested.

The department shared a photo of the loose wine. While some are batched duplicates, there’s a whole smattering of mixed bottles. I can’t help but wonder whether the suspect casually filled up a cart after careful selection or just nabbed some boxes and made off.

Depending on the wine’s value, California considers shoplifting a misdemeanor or felony. If the driver took $950 or more in stolen wine, they’d be looking at a possible felony.