Kidnapped Kitten Used As Decoy In Attempted Bank Robbery

BELTSVILLE, MD — A kidnapped kitten was forced to accompany a bank robber Monday while the suspect committed the crime, according to officials.

Today, she's safe and back with Beltsville Community Cats where she awaits her forever family.

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The man swiped the 3.5-month-old tuxedo kitten named Magnolia from the adoption area of a Prince George's County pet store around 10:30 a.m., then took her along with him while attempting to rob a nearby bank.

Security camera video footage showed the suspect wearing a light-colored T-shirt and a black beanie walking into the Pet Supplies Plus located on Baltimore Avenue in Beltsville.

Store manager Aaron Kurkowski told WRC that the man “came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front, and he just went right to her and ran right on out.”

Seconds later, he can be seen on video running out of the store with the black and white kitten in tow.

"The man who took her walked across the parking lot to a nearby PNC Bank branch and tried to use her as an accessory in his attempted robbery. He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash," according to a Facebook post by Beltsville Community Cats.

Stephanie Stullich with Beltsville Community Cats rescue was contacted by a store employee who alerted her to the catnapping. She zoomed to the store and was stunned to see all of the police cars present for a stolen cat. That's when she learned what had happened to Magnolia, reported WRC.

Stullich ran over to the store, and when she got there, had quite a surprise.

"Apparently, he went into the bank with the cat in his arms, and he walked up to a bank employee and said, ‘Can you hold this?’ And then he wrote a note and handed it to a bank teller and it said, essentially, give me all your cash," Stullich told WRC.

"Magnolia was found safe and sound in the bank manager’s office, where the two had bonded over their shared ordeal," the organization said on Facebook.

Now that her brief “life of crime” is behind her, Magnolia continues to focus on stealing hearts only.

Anyone interested in adopting Magnolia—or any of the kittens or adult cats available through Beltsville Community Cats—can submit an application, email them at rescue@beltsvillecats.net, or send them a message through Facebook.