Teens with hedge clippers busted in attempted SpongeBob theft

[matcom]

<snip>

When a 9-foot-tall SpongeBob SquarePants balloon was swiped from the roof of a Syosset Burger King two weeks ago, restaurant officials were quick to finger a suspect: Plankton, the tiny, irascible owner of an eatery that competes with the one where SpongeBob works as a fry cook in his fictitious underwater hometown of Bikini Bottom.

But when Nassau police responded Saturday night to an attempted SpongeBob theft at a Westbury Burger King, the latest in a nationwide crime wave of SpongeBob swipings, Plankton was nowhere to be found.

Instead, officers arrested two teenagers armed with hedge clippers, shortly after their unsuccessful attempt to kidnap the inflatable character while the fast-food restaurant was still open.

Burger King workers spotted the teens using a ladder to get up on the roof and called police around 11:05 p.m. "We believe at least one was up on the roof," said Third Squad Det. Sgt. Richard Dorsi.

After cutting some of the cables tethering the $500 balloon to the roof, the suspects ran off, sans SpongeBob. Police arrested Daniel Kilberg and Thomas Wall, both 17 and of Garden City, a few blocks from the restaurant, police said.

"It was a prank," said Third Squad Det. Sgt. Richard Dorsi. But the teens chose the wrong target, he said. "It's got too much notoriety."

Kilberg and Wall were charged with fourth-degree attempted grand larceny and possession of burglary tools. They were released, pending appearances Dec. 21 in First District Court.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liburg1213,0,2500895.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

[tk2kewl]

1. Weren't they just trying to *Liberate* Sponge Bob?

Those Burger King folks hate Sponge Bob for his freedom.