Salvation Army customers nab accused thief

A man and woman got weirdly desperate when their alleged attempts to rob a Salvation Army of clothes, handbags and housewares went awry Wednesday.

The store manager spotted the pair allegedly swiping wares from the South San Francisco store by stuffing them under their clothes, according to the South San Francisco Police Department.

When the manager asked them to knock it off, the man, later identified as 43-year-old Mark McCawley of South San Francisco, allegedly punched the manager in the face.

Two customers managed to wrangle the would-be thief and kept a hold of him until he was arrested by police.

The woman, however, allegedly began choking the manager before police arrived and fled in a vehicle with another woman, police said.

The manager suffered minor injuries, which he was treated for and released later.

Police booked McCawley into San Mateo County jail on suspicion of  robbery, commercial burglary, assault and conspiracy, police said.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call South San Francisco Police at 650-877-8900.