Man suspected of stealing from coffee shop tip jar and throwing coffee at police officer in Costa Mesa

A 49-year-old man was arrested Friday morning in Costa Mesa on allegations that he pocketed money from a coffee shop tip jar and threw hot coffee at an officer, police said.

Employees at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 1835 Newport Blvd. called police at about 5:30 a.m. to report a disturbance, said police Sgt. Jason Chamness.

Chamness said a man, whom he described as a transient, took money from the employees’ tip jar, put the cash in his pocket and filled the jar with coffee.

When officers arrived, the man threw the jar full of coffee at one of them, Chamness said. The officer dodged the container and was not injured.

Bradley Montgomery was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, assaulting an officer and petty theft, police said.

Montgomery was booked into Orange County Jail in Santa Ana. His bail amount had not been set, according to jail records.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN