Police have charged a Bayville man with burglary, theft and criminal mischief after they caught him coming out of the V.F.W. Post 9503 building early on Saint Patrick's Day, Police Chief Karin T. DiMichele said.

Patrolman Robert Flanegan arrested Shawn Heyl, 32, Glenwood Drive, after he and a Lakewood police officer apprehended him after a brief foot chase at 6:35 a.m., the chief said.

The Lakewood officer was in the area at the time of the incident and stopped to offer assistance, DiMichele said.

"When he saw the officers, he took off on foot and began to run," DiMichele said.

Heyl was carrying two 12 ounce bottles of Budweiser when he was apprehended, she said.

"He stated he just wanted to get warm and was thirsty," DiMichele said.

Heyl broke into the building through a back door, the chief said.

He was lodged in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River as of this afternoon, in lieu of $10,000 bail, with a ten percent option, DiMichele said.