Police rushed to a alcohol shop after a suspected burglary but found a ‘very intoxicated’ raccoon passed out next to a toilet – officers revealed the creature is no stranger to breaking into businesses
A raccoon was found passed out between a bin and a toilet(Image: FACEBOOK/Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter )
Authorities revealed a raccoon that caused mayhem by breaking in to an alcohol shop before passing out ‘drunk’ by the toilets is actually a repeat offender.
The animal went viral after cops rushed to the scene of a ransacked store where smashed bottles were strewn across the floor, in what was initially thought to be a burglary. Police then surprisingly discovered a raccoon passed out next to the toilets in the alcohol shop, in Virginia, on November 29.
Officials have now shockingly revealed that this wasn’t the fury bandits first run-in with the law an it has broken into other buildings.
The animal broke into an alcohol shop and smashed bottles(Image: FACEBOOK/Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter )READ MORE: Wetherspoon’s rules that could see you turned away or charged to enterREAD MORE: Vet’s warning over common Christmas dinner item that makes dogs very ill
Animal Protection Officer Samantha Martin, on Thursday, said: “This is not the first time he’s been in one of the buildings.” She told the Hear in Hanover podcast that this was the raccoon’s third break-in.
Martin said the animal’s other break-ins included a karate studio and a Department of Motor Vehicles office. She even said the fury creature “ate some snacks” while in the DMV.
The officer said her department did not relocate the cheeky animal as “that’s a death sentence for raccoons” and added that the critter managed to find his way back into the same building. She said: “He’s a smart little critter”.
This fury bandit went viral across the globe when it broke into the Ashland ABC Store liquor and managed to pull several bottles off the shelf before passing out between a toilet and a bin, the Hanover County Animal Protection said on December 2. The culprit was “very intoxicated” the agency said, before adding “safely secured our masked bandit and transported him back to the shelter to sober up before questioning”.
Talking about the call-out that resulted in the animal’s viral fame, Officer Martin said: “The call came in from the ABC manager saying there was an animal in the ABC store. I didn’t realise what had happened completely, but when I arrived on scene he quickly ushered me in the back and we discovered a drunken raccoon in the bathroom and all the bottles and liquor are all over the floor.
“Once we figured out he wasn’t going anywhere and time soon, we chuckled and we were taking pictures of him and the ‘crime scene’ but just another day, I didn’t think it was going to be this crazy. It’s blown up this big.”
She said there were “bottles shattered all over the floor” with “remnants of various alcohol on the floor”, saying the “floor was sopping wet”. But that the raccoon was in the bathroom “passed out” between the toilet and rubbish bin. She added: “He locked himself in the bathroom, so he knew what he was doing. He was protecting himself from the morning. But we don’t know what time he got in there.”
When it came time to rousing the tipsy animal, Officer Martin said: “The store manager was a little nervous, we didn’t realise he was passed out, we thought he was going to pop up at any moment. But once we open up the bathroom, we’re looking in and going ‘oh, he’s gone, he’s definitely had a few’. Then we just started chuckling, I’m taking pictures, the store manager is taking pictures…
“At that point the whole store had opened, so people were coming in, buying their beverages, and I picked him up, put him in my little crate, and everybody’s like ‘oh my gosh there’s a raccoon’, and I was like ‘yeah we’re gonna let him sleep it off’.” In a statement on social media, the HCAP said: “After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer.”
Officers also added that the raccoon found its way into the shop by bursting through a ceiling tile, which also ended up taking out the store’s CCTV system. Images from inside showed the chaotic mess the unassuming animal left after it’s rampage.
Raccoons are known for being highly curious creatures and are adept at climbing, opening containers and even forcing entry into homes, offices and shops. Experts have warned that the combination of urban food waste and dwindling natural habitat has driven the nocturnal animals, common in both rural and built-up, closer to people in towns and cities.