MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — A bobcat is back where it belongs and a man is in custody after a bizarre theft Friday morning in the Poconos.
A man walked into an aminal farm in Monroe County and without any regard for security cameras walked right out the front door carrying the live bobcat.
Surveillance cameras captured the man's image as soon as he exited his vehicle in the empty parking lot of the Pocono Snake and Animal Farm just outside East Stroudsburg.
He made no effort to hide from the cameras as he entered.
The farm is closed this time of year but police say he got in through an unmarked door.
Minutes later, a Ring video camera shows him exiting the farm with the bobcat struggling in his arms.
As vehicles pass by just yards away on Route 209 the Ring camera picks up the bobcat snarling at the suspect.
The animal is a 22-year-old North American bobcat named Blanche.
As the man gets closer to his car, he drops Blanche three times, then begins to plead with her, "I don't want to kill you,".
He yelled, "I don't want to kill you" at least twice, then, "Get in the trunk".
Eventually he wrestled the bobcat into his red Hyundai Elantra and drove off.
He was arrested just a few hours later.
45-year-old Semyon Levit of Bushkill is charged with burglary, theft, and animal cruelty.
The Pocono Snake and Animal Farm released a statement Friday evening saying Blanche is resting comfortably and will be visited by a vet on Saturday.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline.