Mesa police arrested a man they say broke into the Big Bowl Chinese Restaurant on Wednesday and stole a container of ice cream.
Police arrested Anthony James Lee Richards on suspicion of robbery and trespassing at an apartment complex about 11 p.m. in the 1900 block of East Broadway Road after officers were assisted by K-9 units and a helicopter unit to locate him. Police were able to recover the ice cream from the ground of the apartment complex before it melted in the Arizona heat.
Police received a call from a witness who said they saw a man break into the restaurant through a glass back door. After police arrived, an officer saw Richards exiting the business and run along Broadway Road with what was believed to be the container of ice cream in his hand.
After officers established a perimeter around the neighborhood and followed up on leads of other robberies at Chinese restaurants in the area -- but unrelated to the one at the Big Bowl Chinese Restaurant -- they were able to locate Richards in the bedroom of an apartment he did not reside in, pretending to be asleep, according to police.
PaddoC posted at 3:41 pm on Thu, Sep 27, 2012.
What an individual - he broke in and couldn't find anything better to steal than ice cream? Then, instead of eating it before he went to jail, he decided he needed a nap while the ice cream warmed up? Maybe I'm missing something...
AzGirl7 posted at 4:13 pm on Thu, Sep 27, 2012.
I can't believe that the City of Mesa wasted part of its budget for a helicopter search for an ice cream thief. Absurd!
loose stool posted at 3:15 am on Fri, Sep 28, 2012.
Hope this guy doesnt reproduce.
valleynative posted at 7:03 am on Fri, Sep 28, 2012.
A bit extravagant, but think of it as a deterrent. Deterring crime is the primary value the police provide. Nothing they do after a crime has been committed is really much help unless it reduces the chances of future crimes.
Is it a bigger waste of money for the police to send out units on hundreds of burglaries just to file paperwork, or to use a helicopter to actually catch a burglar?
MsCantBeWrong posted at 2:22 pm on Fri, Sep 28, 2012.
Helicopter? K-9 units? Perimeter around the neighborhood? That was a pretty expensive gallon of ice cream.
11secgn posted at 1:49 pm on Sat, Sep 29, 2012.
The crime is not a simple as the idiot took a bucket of ice cream. If he gets away with this simple ice cream burglary, what's to stop him from moving up to residential burglaries. Would you not want the police to respond if this burglar broke into your home and took your Xbox or PS3 or ??? It would also be a big waste of police resources and money for your $300.00 gaming system or the one thousand dollar stash you have under your mattress, yet you would expect the same professional response you say is a waste of resources. This is the job of police officer's! If they just let everyone go for what might seem to be small potatoes, those people will graduate to bigger crimes.
bubba posted at 6:07 pm on Mon, Oct 1, 2012.
If he were a sex offender Sheriff Joe wouldn't have raised a finger.