Prince George's County Police have arrested a Maryland man who allegedly stole a three-and-a-half-month-old tuxedo kitten and brought it with him during an unsuccessful bank robbery in Beltsville on Monday morning.
The Prince George's County Police Department confirmed the arrest and the safe retrieval of the feline in an official statement, saying, "The cat was returned."
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The agency declined to name the suspect or provide additional details, citing an ongoing investigation.
Local rescue shelter Beltsville Community Cats shared additional details in a social media post, identifying the kitten as Magnolia.
According to the post, the suspect asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash.
The suspect failed to secure any cash, leading to his arrest. Magnolia was found unharmed in the manager's office.
Kitten Stolen from Pet Store
Store employees at Pet Supplies Plus, where Magnolia was taken, told WRC that the suspect had visited the kitten daily for two weeks.
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Store manager Aaron Kurkowski stated, "He came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front – and he just went right to her and ran right on out."
The theft prompted a quick response from rescue shelter representative Stephanie Stullich after she received an alert from a store employee.
She said, "I immediately saw all of these police cars and … thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat.’"
Stullich arrived at the scene only to find the police officers heading toward the neighboring PNC bank branch.
She recalled, "They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank.’"
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The rescue organization confirmed that Magnolia is still available for adoption through their official channel.
