A Butler man is accused of entering a Cranberry Township restaurant with his face masked in May and telling the manager “I’m the manager” before fleeing with $264.

Township police said Erik S. Cupps, 36, was charged via summons with a misdemeanor charge of theft by unlawful taking because he cooperated when he was pulled over following the May 22 incident at Applebee’s.

The real manager told police a man in his 30s entered the restaurant through the front door just after 8 p.m. wearing black clothes and a black cloth over his face and made his way to an office in the kitchen area where the manager asked him what he was doing, according to an affidavit.

The man, later identified as Cupps, said ‘I’m the manager” before taking the money and leaving through the front entrance, according to the affidavit.

Surveillance footage of the incident shows the man then entering a red Ford Explorer in the parking lot and driving toward Franklin Road, according to the affidavit.

Adams Township police stopped the vehicle on Route 228. When Cranberry Township police arrived, Cupps consented to a vehicle search and police found $264 in a center glove box. He was arrested and taken to the police station, where he waived his Miranda rights and provided a written statement saying he stole the money, according to the affidavit.

Cupps’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 15 before District Judge Kevin Flaherty.