PALM HARBOR - A 44-year-old Palm Harbor man threatened to kill a convenience store clerk over a snack Wednesday night, authorities said.

Brad E. Coppot was arrested on a felony assault charge after he pulled a 10-inch fllet knife on the employee who confronted him as he tried to steal two bags of Doritos chips, according to an arrest report from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident happened at the Curlew Food and Fuel convenience store at 2320 Curlew Road. The employee chased Coppot off the property after he was seen “crouching down behind displays and eating the chips without paying” the report said.

The clerk confronted Coppot again when he returned five minutes later, grabbed the two bags of chips and tried to leave.

Coppot threatened the employee, then fled, leaving the chips behind, the report said.

Coppot was also charged with petit theft, a misdemeanor. On Thursday afternoon, he was being held at the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $5,150 bail.

- Rita Farlow, Times staff writer