POLICE using surveillance video have put the squeeze on a man suspected of trying to steal a shopping cart full of toothpaste from a western Massachu-setts grocery store.

Police arrested 23-year old Timmy John Laflamme after spotting him sitting in a car across the street from the Stop & Shop supermarket in East Longmeadow where he was accused of trying to rob the previous week.

Laflamme, of Chicopee, pleaded not guilty to shoplifting and was ordered held without bail because of pending cases in Springfield.

Police tell The Republican that Laflamme tried leaving the store with the toothpaste on April 4 but fled when he was stopped by store employees.

Police say shoplifting toothpaste and other toiletries is common. Thieves try to resell the items to small convenience stores.

Source: The Springfield Republican, http://www.masslive.com/news/