With a shopping bag stuffed with copper river salmon and three $50 bottles of champagne, Nick moved toward the exit, notably bypassing the check-out counter. For the past three weeks, the Mercury has profiled shoplifting around Portland. In our last column, we followed a group of chronic five-finger felons into a spendy Northwest grocery store. Already, one woman was waiting outside, a steak shoved down her pants.Nick has been shoplifting from this store for a year and has become a bit cocky. Conspicuously, he had reached for the salmon steak. Now, he worries that a cashier may have witnessed his grab.

"You need to pretend like you're invisible," says Nick. It is obvious he's being watched now. "Whatever you do, don't look at the security guard," he explains.

"Cashier to meat department," a shrill voice calls out over the PA. Nick begins to stride quickly for the exit. A beefy security guard is pacing him. About five feet from the light of day, the guard asks Nick to stop and accuses him of shoplifting.

Nick acts woefully insulted and dumbfounded. "I'm really in a hurry," he tells the guard and invites him to walk outside with him. Later he tells us that he just wanted to get outside so he could bolt. "I'm just going to buy flowers," he tells the guard. It's seven pm and the store is busy with rush-hour shoppers.

Each week, the police arrest about 15 to 20 shoplifters in Portland. Penalties can be severe. In Nick's case, holding more than $200 of goodies puts him at risk of anything from a year in jail to thousands of dollars in fines and hundreds of hours of community service. Shoplifting more than $750 worth of knick-knacks qualifies as a felony, and potentially serious prison time.

As Nick continues to move toward the exit, the guard grabs him. Nick yells back: "Get the fuck off." The guard tries to put plastic handcuffs on him. Nick yells even louder: "Why are you trying to handcuff me?" It's a change in tactics. He later explains he was trying to growl like an angry dog, hoping to seize a moment of shock and dash away.

The guard holds tight. Soon the two tumble into a copy machine, and are still scuffling when police arrive.

Later this week, Nick will appear in front a circuit court judge. He is considering pleading guilty and taking his lumps with community service. PHIL BUSSE