An incident that started with a man trying to steal money from a tip jar at a Lawrence bowling alley escalated Sunday night, police said. Though the man was gone from the bowling alley before officers arrived, he turned up later after wrecking his car on 23rd Street.

Police were dispatched about 9:45 p.m. to Royal Crest Lanes, 933 Iowa St., after a man tried to steal money from a tip jar, got kicked out of the business and returned a few minutes later brandishing a handgun, Officer Derrick Smith said, in an email.

The man put the gun on a countertop but didn’t threaten anyone, Smith said. Bowling alley staff removed the suspect from the business and turned the gun over to police when they arrived.

Just before 11:15 p.m., an officer saw a single-vehicle accident in the 1800 block of West 23rd Street and stopped to help, but the suspect ran, Smith said.

When the officer caught the suspect on foot, he struggled and punched the officer multiple times, Smith said. He said the officer handcuffed the man — identified as the suspect from the bowling alley — and arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, interference with law enforcement and battery on a law enforcement officer.

The officer suffered minor injuries, Smith said.

According to the jail log, the suspect is Charles D. Thomas, 34, of Leavenworth.