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Take a Rabbit, Leave a Rabbit: Man Charged in Bunny Theft

By Jason Beahm | Last updated on

Apparently someone in Lincoln, Nebraska thinks that you can exchange rabbits. The man allegedly stole a bunny from a pet store and left a jackrabbit in its place.

The incident happened at a Pet Doctor pet store. A clerk witnessed a white man in his 40s put a bunny worth $60 in his coat and walk out. The kidnapped rabbit was a white, lop-eared Holland bunny, TheOmahaChannel.com reports.

Police have arrested Michael Stiles, 39, who is accused of stealing the rabbit. However it seems that Stiles has pulled off a bit of a David Copperfield act: the rabbit has disappeared, the Journal Star reports.

Apparently tracking down Michael Stiles wasn't all that difficult.

Prior to his arrest, police said they already had a decent idea who had pulled off the Lincoln, Nebraska bunny switcheroo. It turns out that they had the license plate number of the getaway vehicle. Clerks had noticed Stiles after he was allegedly suspiciously lingering near the rabbit area of the store before leaving in a hurry with a rabbit under his coat. (The fact that he brought in his own jackrabbit was also probably a bit suspicious.)

If there is to be a lesson here, I suppose it involves what constitutes petty theft. Petty theft is a charge used when one is accused of stealing something of a small amount. Typically, less than a few hundred dollars.

Such a charge is not negated by the fact that you leave something else of value behind. You can't walk into Best Buy, put a DVD of The Social Network under your sleeve and leave behind a VHS tape of season 2 of Who's the Boss and call it good. That is still theft my friend.

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