CRANBERRY TWP — A suspected shoplifter made things worse for himself Saturday when he allegedly took a swing at a man who tried to help a store employee stop the would-be thief's getaway, police said.

Now instead of a case of retail theft, Brian P. Akanowicz, 25, of Gibsonia is in the Butler County Prison on a felony robbery charge and a separate count of simple assault.

And the Good Samaritan, Todd Kolson, has set a worthy example to the student body at Mars High School, where he is the principal.

Akanowicz is accused of taking several DVD movies from the Giant Eagle store off Route 228 about 3:20 p.m. When the store's loss prevention officer tried to stop the defendant, Cranberry police said, the suspect ran off.

Kolson, who happened to be driving by, saw March struggling with the defendant, police said. Kolson, 37, of Mars, had turned onto Seven Fields Boulevard toward the store.

"Isaw the guy running. I thought (the suspect) had stolen something from someone,"said Kolson, who was going grocery shopping with his wife and two young children.

Kolson waited for the alleged thief to get closer to his car.

"When he was 10 or so feet way, I jumped out. I think I startled (Akanowicz)," Kolson said. "He threw his DVDs at me."

Undeterred, Kolson tackled the suspect. "What I did was just an instinct,"he recalled.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Akanowicz, whose criminal record shows he has two prior convictions in 2007 for retail theft in Allegheny County Court.