- A Florida man was arrested for urinating on $10,500 worth of Spam and Vienna sausages.
- Patrick Francis Mitchell was identified through surveillance footage after a witness reported the incident.
- He casually walked around the store before paying for his items and leaving after the act.
A Florida man has been apprehended after he peed on Rs 9 lakh ($10,500) worth of perfectly good Spam and Vienna sausages. The man, identified as Patrick Francis Mitchell, took a leak in aisle 18 of the Sam's Club in Lady Lake, an Orlando area town, according to a report in New York Post
A witness spotted Mitchell relieving himself and reported the incident to store employees. After the peeing incident, Mitchell was seen casually walking to he snack section of the store and sat on patio furniture for about 10 minutes, before he walked over to the register, paid for his items and left the store.
After going through the surveillance footage and membership records, Mitchell was identified. A detective from the police department used Mitchell's Sam's Club ID and matched it with the store surveillance imagery and ultimately Mitchell's photograph on his Florida driver's license.
He was arrested at his home in Piedmont, where he lived with his wife in a retirement community called "Florida's Friendliest Hometown".
"Behavior consistent with urination," reported Marion County Detective Ronnie Williams.
Afterwards, the store concluded that because the products had been contaminated with bodily fluid, they would need to be thrown out. In total, the 70-year-old retiree ruined 188 bulk units of Vienna sausages and 345 units of canned Spam Classic.
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Social media reacts
Reacting to the news, social media users demanded that the authorities adequately punish Mitchell for his actions.
"Convict this miscreant and give it jail time and lighten his retirement savings with a hefty fine," said one user, while another added: "Ah, welcome back Florida Man. It's been about a week."
A third commented: "When you gotta go you gotta go! But honestly, feel for the store and its losses."
Mitchell has entered a plea of not guilty to a felony charge of criminal mischief at the Lake County Court, where he is being represented by criminal defence attorney Bobby Rumalla. He currently remains free on a Rs 2.5 lakh ($3,000) bond.
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