Serial burglar caught by police because of his SpongeBob SquarePants obsession
Often when you read crime stories, the criminals make some attempt to disguise themselves to evade capture.
Well, one man from the US bucked the trend and wanted to display his love for SpongeBob SquarePants while robbing apartments - of course he did.
The SpongeBob fanatic is Edward Price, also known as ‘Smacc Man’ by locals.
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Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, caught him on 16 September after he allegedly conducted multiple burglaries in an apartment complex.
In a Facebook post, the Tulsa Police Department said five separate robberies had been reported at the apartment complex since July.
They noted the suspect would follow a similar pattern by kicking down the apartment's door before stealing electronics, televisions and guns from each home.
Surprisingly, the Krabby Patty formula was not among Price's stolen items.
Police clocked that at a few of these robberies the suspect was spotted wearing SpongeBob themed shorts and socks.
This suspect then made it even more obvious for police to arrest him as when he posted the stolen items on Facebook Marketplace, you could spot the same SpongeBob themed shorts and socks in the background of the picture.
After this discovery, Tulsa Police Department sent out a search warrant for the suspect's apartment.
During that search, detectives found the SpongeBob clothing items in the man's dryer.
Alongside that, detectives found multiple TVs, mobile phones, iPads, tablets, guns, ammunition, internet routers and other electronics - all of which appeared to have been stolen from the apartments.
The local police has since confirmed many of them stolen items have been returned to the rightful owners.
In a post by Tulsa Police Department on Facebook, they joked about the suspect's apartment, it read: "FYI, the suspect’s apartment was not located in a pineapple under the sea."
‘Smacc Man’ was arrested for second-degree burglary after a felony conviction, knowingly concealing stolen property and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
US TV station FOX 23 has reported that Price has been arrested in the past for burglaries. They wrote: "Price has been arrested for several burglaries in the past, but most of those charges were dismissed because of a witness failing to appear."
The TV station has also said Price's arraignment has been set for today (22 September).
Police added that they do not believe Price acted alone and are asking the public to help them with the search for another man.
Callum Jones