Shopper recorded shoving crossbow into his sweatpants at Florida store, sheriff says

“One of the world’s dumbest criminals” was recorded shoving a crossbow into his sweat pants at a hardware store, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Central Florida.

It happened Feb. 6 at a True Value home improvement store in Mims, and the man stood in front of a surveillance camera as he pulled open his pants to hide the weapon, video shows.

“Just when you think you have seen it all,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey wrote on Facebook.

“This guy takes carrying a concealed weapon to a whole new level, as he proves to all of us that you can actually stuff a crossbow down the front of your pants!”

The man successfully made it out of the store, despite the conspicuous bulge — and a handle sticking out of his pants.

Store staff later discovered two crossbows were missing and began checking surveillance video for suspicious activity. That’s when they saw footage of a customer using a stolen cutting tool to remove a Ravin R10 Crossbow from its packaging and hide it in his pants, officials said.

The hunting bows are 33 inches long, weigh close to seven pounds and retail for about $1,299 at stores such as Bass Pro Shops.

Investigators say the man resurfaced a few days later and was captured after a brief chase across a Walgreens parking lot, officials said.

He is in the Seminole County Jail “on an unrelated burglary charge” as of Feb. 23, and a warrant out of Brevard County has been issued for his arrest on felony petit theft of the crossbow, officials said.

“You just can’t make this stuff up!” the sheriff added.

Mims is about 44 miles northeast of Orlando.

This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Shopper recorded shoving crossbow into his sweatpants at Florida store, sheriff says."