Matthew Pancake, 31, has been taken into custody by the police following allegations that he was engaged in a rash of shoplifting incidents in Hilliard, an Ohio suburb of Columbus.
Pancake was perp-walked out of a retail center early Tuesday while wearing a leopard-print onesie.
According to the police, he busted out the glass to the front doors of a Famous Footwear shop shortly after 2 a.m. Police say he also busted into a Roosters restaurant and a Petland. The latter break-in could explain what police found inside the leopard onesie—Pancake was smuggling hamsters. Four were recovered unharmed.
When police arrived, they found many animals running around the parking lot, presumably from Petland, which was about 100 yards away. Inside, a kennel was broken open by a rock. Two canines, several birds, a hamster, and a couple of bunnies were all retrieved by the police. According to Sergeant Joe Albert of the Columbus Police Department, officers are still looking for several animals, one of which is a ferret.
During their hunt for the missing animals, police found stuff from all three businesses scattered outdoors on the sidewalks. They also observed blood. It was later determined Pancake had injured himself, not the animals.
Following medical treatment at a nearby hospital, Pancake was booked into Franklin County Jail.
Police were still trying to determine whether anything had been stolen from the Roosters restaurant when they received the call about additional break-ins. The law seemed to be one step behind the crazed Pancake as he was in the midst of his episodes.
A little under a mile from the pet store, in a Big Lots parking lot, Pancake was subsequently discovered dozing in his onesie.
When police detained him, Pancake asked the officers why he was being arrested.
Either he forgot what he did, or he didn’t think it was illegal.
Police earned their wages that evening.
