Jul 6, 2016 10:15 AM

A Southampton Town employee remains suspended without pay, and might lose his job, after he scavenged more than $900 worth of Red Bull energy drink after it fell off the back of a delivery truck in Shinnecock Hills in late May and then refused to return it to the driver.

Court documents say John Ryan, 54, of East Quogue, who oversees employee safety for the town, was driving his town-issued vehicle at around 9:30 a.m. on May 12 when he came across 19 cases of Red Bull—valued at $931—that had fallen onto the road near the intersection of Montauk Highway and St. Andrews Road.

The delivery truck driver noticed that his truck’s rear door had accidentally swung open and nearly two dozen cases of the energy drink had spilled out and onto the road and shoulder. After he turned his truck around, the driver observed a man quickly loading the cases into a utility vehicle that featured the town’s emblem, according to Detective Sergeant Lisa Costa.

Mr. Ryan, who has been employed by the town since 2007 and makes $71,765 annually, had already loaded the 19 cases into his vehicle when the truck driver reached him and asked that he return them—a request that Mr. Ryan repeatedly refused, police said. He then drove off with the energy drink.

Det. Sgt. Costa said the truck driver reported the incident to police the same day, offering a description of the fleeing town vehicle. She said it took investigators a few weeks to figure out which town employee was in the area at the time of the theft, as many town-issued vehicles look the same.

Mr. Ryan was eventually identified and arrested by Southampton Town Police on June 18 after he turned himself in at police headquarters in Hampton Bays, according to Det. Sgt. Costa. He was charged with petit larceny and official misconduct, both misdemeanors, police said.

Mr. Ryan, who did not respond to a request seeking comment, was suspended for 30 days following his arrest, according to Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman. He added that Mr. Ryan’s future employment with the town will be decided at a later hearing.

Mr. Ryan’s suspension is set to expire on Thursday, July 21, according to Russell Kratoville, the town’s management services administrator. If a disciplinary hearing is not scheduled by that time, Mr. Ryan could either return to work or remain out on paid suspension.

The original police report on the incident stated that Mr. Ryan lived in Hampton Bays, but court documents revealed that he actually resides in East Quogue.