A man was arrested after he allegedly broke into an eyecare store and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of sunglasses in Dartmouth over the weekend.

Police were called to Pearle Vision off Faunce Corner Road for an alarm activation around 4 a.m. Saturday. When officers arrived, they found the front door smashed, display cases damaged and a significant amount of merchandise stolen.

While searching the area, police said they found Andre Kerman riding a bicycle nearby. When an officer tried speaking with Kerman, he fled and “refused to stop” as sunglasses fell from a backpack he was carrying, according to police.

Kerman, 51, of Fairhaven, was eventually apprehended. Inside the backpack, police said they found numerous pairs of sunglasses from Pearle Vision with the price tags still attached, valued at nearly $51,000.

See more at wpri.com.