San Diego

Marvin (Bad News) Barnes, a former professional basketball player, was arrested at his East San Diego apartment Thursday on suspicion of shoplifting in two separate incidents, police reported.

Employees and customers at the Adult Book and Video store, in the 4000 block of El Cajon Boulevard, identified Barnes from a photographic lineup as the man who stole videos July 29, then came back the next day and stole ladies’ lingerie, police spokesman Dave Cohen said. Further investigation led to Barnes’ arrest at his apartment, in the 4000 block of 42nd Street.

Barnes, 37, was booked into County Jail on two felony counts of petty theft with a prior conviction. He was convicted in May on a burglary charge and served 31 days, Cohen said.

Barnes’ prowess as a basketball forward for such teams as the Detroit Pistons, the Buffalo Braves and the Boston Celtics was always shadowed by trouble with the law. In 1974, as a senior at Providence College in Rhode Island, Barnes pleaded guilty to assaulting a teammate with a tire iron in an incident two years earlier--hence the nickname “Bad News.”

Since then, the 6-foot-9, 225-pound Barnes has been in and out of jail on various charges, including drug possession and eluding police in a high-speed chase. In 1980, he spent four days in a Trieste, Italy, jail on a charge of giving false testimony in connection with a cocaine party he allegedly attended.

Barnes moved to San Diego in 1980 when he signed a 10-day contract with the San Diego Clippers. He will be arraigned Monday in Superior Court.