A Turlock man was taken into custody after violently taking a bike from a 14-year-old boy and then reporting the bike was stolen from him when the 14-year-old and his father reclaimed it.

Jose Flores, 36, of Turlock was arrested on suspicion of robbery and child abuse, the Turlock Police Department reported.

The incident began Thursday afternoon when the 14-year-old boy left his bicycle locked up outside a convenience store in the 900 block of Lander Avenue. The boy went and made his purchase and when he came back outside he noticed Flores standing close to his bike.

According to the police report, Flores punched the 14-year-old boy in the throat and then stole the bicycle. The assault caused a non-life-threatening injury for the boy, said Turlock Police spokesman Sgt. Russ Holeman.

The boy and his father went to the police department and made a report on the assault and the theft.

Later that day the police department received a call stating a man was being chased and someone had just stolen his bike. In actuality, the 14-year-old and his father had been out looking for his stolen bicycle and had come across Flores in the 100 block of N. Tully Road.

The pair were approaching Flores when he dropped the bike and took off running, Holeman said. As he ran by a bystander, he asked them to call the police and report that he was being chased and that his bike had been stolen.

Police officers responded to the scene and found the 14-year-old and his father with their reclaimed bike. The officers also found Flores in the area and took him into custody without incident.

Flores remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 bail.