By Simone Jasper
The Charlotte Observer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man tried to get a reward for returning stolen furniture — then ended up behind bars, North Carolina officials said.
Deputies said furniture went missing from a Charlotte-area business before it received a call out of the blue. The 59-year-old on the line reportedly said he had the stolen items and asked if there was a reward to bring them back.
The caller then drove to “the local business with the stolen furniture seeking his reward,” the Union County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Dec. 30 news release.
But instead of cashing in, the man was “‘rewarded’ by detectives with a set of handcuffs after he was identified as the suspect who initially stole the furniture,” deputies wrote.
The man was charged with felony larceny after officials said he was caught on camera stealing more than $1,500 worth of items in August. The furniture was reported missing from a business in Hemby Bridge, roughly 15 miles southeast of uptown Charlotte.
“The criminal mastermind behind this theft donned his next-level cat burglar attire which consisted of a pair of crew socks on his hands and a T-shirt tied around his face,” officials wrote.
The man accused of committing the crime was taken to the Union County jail and later released. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 9, online records show.
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