A 59-year-old maintenance worker at a Waikele shopping center was arrested after allegedly taking the purse of a customer who had accidentally dropped it.

A woman, 73, said that as she got in her van and was preparing to leave the shopping center with her purse on the floor by her feet around 1:20 p.m. Sunday. She saw a maintenance worker standing nearby, police said.

When she realized she had dropped the purse minutes later, she returned and, along with shopping center security, located the worker in a tool shed, police said. He denied seeing or taking the purse, but the missing item was found in the shed with cash missing.

Isabelo P. Macadangdang of Waipahu was released on $200 bail after being charged with second-degree theft.