CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The wife of a former Charleston police officer says he was forced to resign from the department for neglecting to pay for a pastry he ate at a 7-Eleven.

Charleston Police Chief Brent Webster acknowledged that the officer, Billy Helmbright, left the department earlier this month but won’t say why.

Helmbright’s wife, Jessie, wrote in a public Facebook post that her husband was placed on administrative leave in December 2013, and his last day was Nov. 2.

“The reason he was placed on leave was because he was standing in 7-11 with a few other officers talking to them,” she wrote. “While he was talking to them he opened up a .79 cent yes a .79 cent pastry and started eating it. He placed the wrapper up on the counter to pay for it but he began talking again. He got a call while standing there and ran out without paying for the pastry.”

She wrote that one of the officers standing there reported Helmbright for stealing the pastry.

“After an investigation which showed my hubby had no intentions on stealing it and 7-11 was not going to press charges, he had the choice to either be fired or resign,” she wrote. “He was on paid administrative leave for a year just thought everyone would like to know where their tax dollars goes…