By Tim Binnall
Cops in Ohio made a rather bizarre bust earlier this week when they arrested a man who allegedly burglarized a pet store and, upon being searched, was found to have stashed four hamsters in his pants. The strange case reportedly began early Monday morning in the city of Columbus when police were alerted to a break-in at a restaurant. Officers dispatched to the scene soon discovered that not only had that establishment been burglarized, but a nearby pet store had also been struck, which is where the incident took a decidedly weird turn as the suspect had released several animals out into the parking lot.
Fortunately, cops were able to recover most of the creatures, corralling two dogs, a hamster, some birds, and a pair of rabbits. Believed to be still 'at large' are additional birds, bunnies, and a ferret. Based on security camera footage from the businesses, police determined that the burglar was wearing a leopard-print onesie. Thankfully, this made his capture rather easy as a search of the surrounding area led to them suspect Matthew Pancake sleeping on a bench in the hard-to-miss pajamas.
While he tried to feign ignorance as he was being taken into custody, the act fell apart when police searched him and, to their astonishment, found four pilfered hamsters tucked away in his odd outfit. Pancake has since been charged with both breaking and entering as well as vandalism. As for the hamsters, they have since been returned to the pet store, where they undoubtedly had quite the story to share with their critter companions.