NORWICH – A Walmart security employee was punched by a customer while intervening in a shoplifting Saturday.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 23-year-old Anthony R. Botte II of Harpursville and charged him with third degree assault and attempted petit larceny, both misdemeanors.

Botte was arraigned in Town of Guilford Court and remanded to the Chenango County jail in lieu of $2,000 cash bail. Police identified a codefendant, 21-year-old Manda L. Andreas of Harpursville, as Botte’s girlfriend and charged her with attempted petit larceny before she was released.

A statement from the sheriff’s office reported, “(Botte) was caught trying to shoplift at Walmart then punched the Walmart employee who stopped him from stealing items.”