JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL (AP) -- Petty thieves often steal by shoving things down their pants. But a live ferret?
A homeless man in Jacksonville beach apparently wasn't afraid to try it.
Police say 38-year-old Rodney Bolton put the $129 animal in his trousers at a Pet Supermarket and walked out.
A 17-year-old witness who confronted Bolton in the parking lot was bitten by the animal after the man allegedly squeezed it and shoved it in his face.
In another strange twist, that also made the ferret under Florida law a "special weapon." So besides theft, Bolton faces battery charges for dangerously wielding the animal.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
