Man shoplifts rifle by shoving it down his pants
West Des Moines IA Oct 4 2017 Police in West Des Moines, Iowa are looking for a shoplifter who awkwardly shuffled out of a sporting goods store with stolen goods.
The man shoved a Ruger Mini-14 .223 caliber rifle down his pants.
His jeans appear to have been loose-fit.
The police department posted surveillance video of the caper to its Facebook page on Thursday.
In the video the man looks like Everyman Shopper walking into a Scheels store. But walking out?
He had a definite hitch in his get-along, waddling like a baby with a full diaper “because he just concealed and stole a small rifle,” police said.
Employees realized the rifle was missing while doing an audit on Tuesday, the Des Moines Register reported.
Police said the man took the rifle off a rack in the store’s guns and ammo department, tucked the rifle under other items in his shopping cart, then pushed the cart into the store’s bathroom.
It might have been a discounted gun that wasn’t kept locked up, police said.
After leaving the bathroom, the man abandoned the cart and appeared to “have a stiff leg when he walked,” according to the criminal complaint.
Employees saw the man when they reviewed the store’s surveillance footage and called police, according to the newspaper.
The man fled in a red Ford Mustang and has not yet been identified.
Sgt. Anthony Giampolo told KCCI in Des Moines the incident is “a learning experience for everyone.”
