Southington Man Charged With Stealing Tips, Threatening Employee: SPD

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A 38-year-old local man has been charged with stealing a tip jar at a Chinese restaurant in Southington, then threatening staff at a local pizza place with a box cutter in a robbery there.

Southington police said Jonathan Leveille, 38, of Mill Street, Southington, was charged Sunday with two counts of sixth-degree larceny; first-degree robbery; failure to insure a private vehicle; and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.

He was being held on $155,000 total bond and was slated to appear in New Britain Superior Court Tuesday, June 20.

According to the Southington Police Department Monday, on Sunday at about 8 p.m., officers were called to Zheng's Chinese Restaurant at 2211 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike.

Police were called following the theft of a tip jar at Zheng's, in which $15 was stolen, the SPD said.

According to police, a suspect later identified at Leveille entered the Chinese restaurant at about 7:20 p.m., asked for a menu, then returned to his vehicle in the parking lot.

About 20 minutes later, police said, the suspect returned to Zheng's, "muttered something," then grabbed the tip drawer and rushed out.

Shortly thereafter, police said Leville was inside the nearby South Town Apizza restaurant, where he went inside the store, displayed a dark-colored box-cutting razor blade and told a worker there to give him cash.

Police said the employee gave the suspect a $20 bill from the register and Leveille took the money and left the restaurant.

According to the SPD, witnesses were able to provide a description and photographs of Leveille's vehicle and he was charged separately for the two incidents after being found in his Southington home.