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RENO, Nev. » A Reno man who skipped out on a $100 bill at a brewpub and then was publicly pilloried on Facebook was taken into custody on Thursday.
Saul Zelaznog was booked into the Washoe County Detention Center in northern Nevada on a probation violation, although officials at the jail couldn’t provide specifics today on the circumstances of his arrest.
Zelaznog became an object of social media scorn after workers at the Brewer’s Cabinet posted his picture on Facebook Tuesday, warning other restaurants to watch out for him and linking to his profile so others could “let him know he sucks.”
“And, while you’re at it, you could tell him that visiting restaurants with your friends, running up a huge bill, roughing up servers and then bailing is pretty uncool … pathetic, really,” the post reads. “Get a life, man.”
The post had more than 800 shares on Facebook by today, with users helping identify him and voicing enthusiastic support for the business.
Chris Kahl, a co-owner of the Brewer’s Cabinet in Reno, said he reported the incident to police after it happened on Tuesday.
“All his friends paid and left, and he was the last one,” Kahl told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “The server needed to collect his money. He said he forgot his wallet.”
Other restaurants and bars in the area — including Imperial, Campo and Chapel Tavern — told KRNV-TV they believe they’ve also been his victims.
When contacted by the newspaper, Zelaznog — who also goes by the name Saul Gonzalez, according to public records — said he had forgotten a method of payment when he visited Tuesday, but planned to return to pay the tab.
He said he was involved in a similar situation at another Reno-area restaurant, where he said he left a “nice watch” as collateral.
“I’m not trying to burn bridges around town,” he told the paper. “This is a small little town.”
Late Thursday, the brewpub posted on its Facebook to announce Zelaznog was nabbed on the probation violation and to thank users for their support.
“We hope that all of his outstanding debts are paid in time,” the post reads, “but more importantly, that he makes wiser decisions in the future.”
