[De-Sponged] Sponge-Bob Thefts Nationwide hits Baytown

I was just at Burger King last night thinking how sweet this would look around the house


Rash of SpongeBob thefts nationwide hits Baytown

By Deborah Wrigley
ABC13 Eyewitness News

(11/29/04 - BAYTOWN, TX) — A movie promotion has backfired for some Burger King franchises. There's been a rash of thefts nationwide of giant SpongeBob SquarePants inflatables placed atop the restaurants to promote the cartoon character's new movie. That includes one stolen in Baytown.

The description of the stolen item is familiar to anyone familiar with SpongeBob SquarePants -- yellow and porous and small is he, and he's also pretty expensive -- $500 per inflatable, which one Baytown Burger King, pardon the pun, is having to eat.
Most Burger Kings have an inflated SpongeBob on their roofs. Each one measures about sixty square feet. But the Burger King on Garth Road looks pretty bare these days.

"All I know is he was up there one night and a couple of nights later, my brother and them say they passed by and said he wasn't there no more," said SpongeBob fan Nicole Perez.
SpongeBob was stolen in the dead of night one night last week.
So how did they do it? Perhaps they shimmied up a drain pipe or rebounded off a truck, but they scaled onto the roof and made off with SpongeBob, pants and all.

"I think it's a terrible crime that someone would steal SpongeBob," said fan Brenda Harris.

Thieves in other states have left ransom notes, demanding Crabbie Patties as payment. Not so in Baytown, where little evidence was left behind.

Detective Ernie Yznaga with the Baytown Police Department told us, "We don't know if a pickup was used and they just threw him in the back or they deflated and then folded up and stuffed in the backseat of a car. We just don't know at this point."
And that's enough to make SpongeBob fans pretty sad.

"My grandkids are really broken hearted over things like this," said Harris.

The same franchise holder had an attempted heist two weeks ago in Sagemont. Four college students were arrested. Anyone with information about the missing SpongeBob from Baytown can call Baytown Crimestoppers.

SpongeBob figures have been stolen from a number of Burger Kings all across the United States. Restaurants in New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, Tennessee, Utah, Nebraska and Virginia are all reporting Sponge-nabbing cases. In Minnesota, the suspect left behind that ransom note, asking for 10 Crabbie Patties, fries, and milkshakes. The note was signed by SpongBob's cartoon nemesis, Plankton. Police agencies from across the US are double checking, but so far don't believe any of the thefts are connected.
(Copyright © 2004, KTRK-TV)