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Bodycam video shows "gerbil bandit" arrest
As FOX 28's Isabelle Hanson reports, Matthew Pancake was spotted sleeping in a leopard-print onesie near the site of multiple break-ins.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Officers in Ohio say they found rodents in a man’s pants when they went to arrest him for a string of burglaries that included a pet shop.
"Oh! There are gerbils in there," police can be heard saying in bodycam footage of the arrest. "Multiple gerbils!"
What happened
It all started around 2 a.m. on Tuesday when Columbus police responded to a series of break-ins at a Famous Footwear store, a Petland store, and a Roosters restaurant.
FOX 28 Columbus reports that police rounded up some puppies and birds outside of the Petland, where kennels had apparently been smashed open with a rock.
Bodycam video showed smashed kennels inside the pet store.
Police tracked down Matthew Pancake sleeping on a bench nearby. The 31-year-old was wearing a leopard print onesie, police noted.
As they slapped handcuffs on him, officers discovered what they thought were gerbils in the suspect’s pants; the critters later turned out to be hamsters.
Pancake now faces charges of vandalism and breaking and entering.
One of the hamsters recovered from the suspect's pants.
What they’re saying
"We got the gerbil bandit," one officer can be heard radioing in the bodycam footage as another officer chuckles. "He literally had the gerbils in his pants."
"Oh God, they’re going to request this body camera video," a second officer groans.
What we don't know
Pancake, seen in police custody after his arrest.
The suspect's motives were not immediately clear.
"It's very odd," Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert later told FOX 28. "Obviously, we don't know what this individual is going through."