A Florida man employed as a Salvation Army bell ringer during the holiday season found himself in legal trouble after allegedly trying to “impale” a grocery store manager with his donation kettle stand, authorities reported.

Steven Pavlik, aged 63, was apprehended at his residence earlier this week. He faces charges of aggravated assault and resisting arrest following an incident where he is accused of attacking a Publix manager in Stuart, Florida while under the influence of alcohol.

Pavlik had been positioned as a bell ringer outside the grocery establishment.

In a statement from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, posted on Facebook on Christmas Eve, they described how Pavlik’s attempt at spreading holiday cheer turned chaotic. “Steven Pavlik, who joined the Salvation Army as a bell ringer, ended up trading his bells for handcuffs after an episode of drunken hostility,” the post explained.

Sixty-three-year-old “Steven Pavlik tried his hand at some part-time Christmas charity work — however, drunk ringing, belligerent tidings and assault took him from bell duty to booking blotter after a full-blown charity tirade,” the Martin County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Christmas Eve Facebook post. 

The store manager confronted Pavlik after he allegedly got drunk on duty and began “aggressively” harassing passersby, causing a “major disturbance” outside the store, according to the sheriff’s office. 

The suspect allegedly attacked the store manager with his donation kettle tripod.  (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

Pavlik then allegedly attacked the store manager with his donation kettle tripod.

“When the Publix manager came outside to speak to Pavlik, he became violent and attempted to impale the manager with the donation kettle tripod,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

Pavlik was confronted after he allegedly got drunk on duty and began “aggressively” harassing passersby. (AP Photo, File/Torin Halsey)

The manager wasn’t injured during the attack, the sheriff’s office said. 

Pavlik fled, but deputies later located him at his home, where he was taken into custody.

Publix and the Salvation Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.