“He had a few hours there to enjoy himself …”
Published on Dec 3, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Early on Saturday morning, officials in Hanover County, Virginia, were alerted to a break-in which occurred at a local liquor store the previous evening. The suspect, who’s believed to have entered through the ceiling, then reportedly went on an alcohol-fueled rampage.
Several bottles were found knocked off the shelves, lying broken in puddles on the floor.
But this was far from the typical burglary.
Security camera footage shared with authorities by the store’s owner showed that the perpetrator was, in fact, a raccoon. And soon, Officer Martin of Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter arrived on the scene to investigate.
But the furry suspect hadn’t gotten far. He was found passed out in the store’s restroom.
“He had a few hours there to enjoy himself, I guess,” Jenna Spencer, field manager with Hanover County Animal Protection, told The Dodo. “He had a real bender, it looked like.”
Officer Martin was able to easily detain the raccoon before transporting him back to the shelter to sober up.
“It took him a couple of hours to come to,” Spencer said.
Fortunately, despite the raccoon’s long night in the store, he was found to be uninjured. After sobering up, he was deemed fit for release back into the wild, “hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer,” officials wrote.