A 65-year-old Ypsilanti man was arrested after he threatened the staff of a Denny's restaurant in Ann Arbor with a knife as he attempted to leave without paying for his meal, police said.
When the man finished his meal at the Denny's located at 3310 Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, he tried leaving without taking care of the bill, Ann Arbor police Sgt. Paul Curtis said.
"He had a cab waiting for him outside," Curtis added. "He told the staff he wasn't paying because he didn't like the service."
Staff members followed the man out of the restaurant and told the cab driver the man hadn't paid for his meal. The driver of the cab, which police believe the man called for while eating his meal, kicked him out of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, staff members tried getting the man to pay his bill. That's when the 65-year-old revealed a weapon.
"He pulled out a folding knife and started making threatening statements to the staff," Curtis said.
The staff retreated back inside the restaurant and called the police, then came out on the sidewalk, where the man was still standing, and tried talking to him one last time. The man again threatened them with the knife.
Police arrived and ordered the man to drop the knife, which he did, Curtis said. The 65-year-old was arrested without incident and taken to the Washtenaw County Jail, where he was held overnight on a charge of felonious assault.
The man was expected to be arraigned on the charge Tuesday.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.