Mr. Pancake, you're under arrest. Don't move. GET ON YOUR BELLY. GET ON YOUR [ __ ] belly. Get on your belly, Mr. Pancake. IN THE NAME OF THE LAW, PANCAKE, get on your belly. Where are the gerbils? >> Where are the gerbils? For your safety, is there a gerbil inside you? In the early morning hours of July 9th, 2024, officers from the Columbus Division of Police in Hilliard, Ohio, were called into action after alarms triggered at several local businesses, signaling a series of break-ins. As they rushed to the scene in search of a suspect, none of them could have anticipated the bizarre chain of events that was about to unfold. Just before dawn on that July morning, a man walking his dog dialed 911 after hearing alarms blaring and witnessing a break-in at a nearby construction company in Hilliard, Ohio. There's somebody in the back. I don't know if they're at the Codderman or if they're at the aluminum glass, but they're they're they're breaking into something. Okay. Is there a specific like unit number or anything? No, that's just the address. It's two companies. They're they're they're in the back. Okay. How many people are out there? Uh no idea. My dog I'm walking my dog and he's trying to he's over there and I'm here I'm across the street with with my dog and he's got his leash and he's I'm hearing him. Okay, so you just hear them, you don't see anything? No, I don't see anything, but I hear them When officers arrived at Roosters, emergency dispatch fed them critical information to assist in securing the building. With evidence suggesting blood at the crime scene, officers worked to identify its source, completely unaware that a troubling situation was developing rapidly at a neighboring business. COLUMBUS POLICE, ANYBODY IN HERE MAKE YOURSELVES KNOWN. IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE BLOOD, BUT I DON'T SEE blood anywhere else. I've been looking on the floor. Yeah. I don't see blood anywhere else. And And it doesn't make sense that he would have blood on the rock before he threw it through the window. Yeah. It's barbecue sauce. And that makes sense that it'd be dried, but it's It looks like blood, though. And it looks like blood. Yeah, I'd say it is. It's fresh. I didn't see any blood anywhere else. >> But yeah, I didn't see it anywhere else. Question is, is where are we supposed to Is there like a DNA kit? Swab? I don't have my DNA kit with me, but I also don't know how to DNA collect blood. I don't either. Just as they began mapping out their next move, a startling update crackled over the radio, launching the situation into entirely new and bizarre territory. Okay, so anyone else that can confirm that way that that we have there? The animals inside appeared to be safe and uninjured, but it would soon become apparent that not all of them were accounted for. Tracking down the missing ones would lead to one of the night's most jaw-dropping moments. All right, 91919191 confirm that we have a suspect. Come here. You're okay. Come here. Come here. You're okay. Come here. 9191 copy. Come here, buddy. You're okay. Do you want to make sure her head's up there? Okay. You're okay. I'd say the other one's the back one or the three up there. Who's your brother? Brother or sister, whatever it is. Are you guys his siblings? All those puppies are in cages, so he had to have been in the back messing with it. Yeah, that's why I sent Adam out back. Okay. He's the most nimble, the youngest, the most agile. I'd be Ramirez. In the meantime, officers had their hands full, quite literally, trying to wrangle more than a dozen snapping, biting birds without losing their composure. I'm not Yeah, I'm not a bird guy. I have no idea what to do. You got blood all over you, buddy. Come on. I don't know if you're going to bite or what. Exactly. EXACTLY. [laughter] AND WHAT? THAT DOESN'T HURT. YEAH, I I'm hitting him in the head. Here, you go in there. Fly away. You can sing, [ __ ] Officers began piecing together answers to questions that had lingered from earlier in the night. All right, so question is is So he came out cuz he's leaking pretty good in there. Did he hit up there? Oh, he had to have hit up Roosters cuz that's how the rock got bloody. And we never got an alarm from here, right? Right. So he hit this place first, then hit Roosters cuz that's where the rock came from. >> Yeah, but he's bleeding a lot more here. But he could have wrapped it up in the meantime. You got a vet by chance? I know, that's the thing. It's like I'm going to go and talk to the key holder. The key holder pulled in down there. With assistance from the general manager, they pulled up footage from the restaurant's CCTV cameras to determine whether the individual spotted earlier matched the person captured on the security recordings. It was the breakthrough officers had been waiting for. Uh I'm the manager. I looked at the footage on the cameras and I got a description of the person, so I was going to give you guys that. >> Yeah, what's the person that's It's like It looks like a like late teens to mid-20s Hispanic male. Um Like long enough hair that I can see it, like not a buzz cut. He has like I can't tell if it's like camo, but it's like a print like sweats on. He said what color shirt did he have on? Uh he has It almost looks like camo, but I don't think it's camo, but it's like a print like that. Okay. Top and bottom print match. It's in like the like night vision, so I can't really see the color of it. You said And I'm sorry, what was your name? So I I literally went down here and I'm going to go down here and check behind behind the criminal and I saw a big thing of shoes Oh yeah, he broke into the shoe store. Is there anything past I see [ __ ] down there by the car? Yeah, he threw some stuff in there and then past Aldi, there's a bunch of >> There is still stuff past >> Yeah, there's stuff past Aldi. Okay. Having identified the single person responsible for the chaos that had unfolded that morning, they relayed the information to dispatch, who quickly confirmed their suspicions. He no longer works here. That manager he was manager was no longer works there. So I'm going to call her and see if she can help me out on I appreciate it. He definitely is moving southbound, so he's he's Apparently, he has animals stuffed in his [ __ ] Oh. Well, I'd say there was two dogs, bunnies, chinchilla, a bunch of birds. Right. I talked to you over here at the gas station. It's like, "Yeah, he had [ __ ] gerbils holding on to his pants." Well, he's out here running around somewhere and he's just smashing smashing doors as he goes. Authorities were no strangers to Matthew Pancake. Just a year prior, on June 1st, 2023, Matthew had been sentenced to 36 months of community control for breaking and entering. Despite subsequent charges for drug possession, failure to report for community control, and testing positive for controlled substances, he had been reinstated to community control on March 7th, 2024, only 4 months before this incident. As officers closed in on Matthew, they followed his trail of destruction southward toward Famous Footwear, a business located roughly half a mile south of Petland. >> to keep going south. I hit that corner, I was like, "Why is there all these shoes and stuff on the corner of Aldi?" He broke into the shoe store. I don't know if there's blood there, too. Yeah, I think this was after the fact, though. Well, it was He has his head southbound. Columbus Police. Anybody in here make yourselves known. All right. Who is that carrying this They are also headed to 103 location. 9150 I'm out here with them. Okay, thank you. Well, he's not in here. Officer, what was the name of the company? Um Michael P. All right, so I'm going to go I'm going to go down here and check behind behind this strip mall and I saw a big pile of shoes back there. Oh, yeah, he broke into the store. Is there anything past I see [ __ ] down there by the car. >> Yeah, he threw some stuff in there and then there's past Aldi there's a bunch of There is still stuff past Aldi. >> stuff past Aldi. Okay. So, he All right. Continuing their search heading southbound, officers finally received a witness tip containing the information they had been desperately waiting for. The frustrating revelation made it clear that officers had been following Matthew's trail in entirely the wrong direction. All right, so have you heard about the guy who broke into Pet Land? Yes. Uh I'm looking right at him. He's asleep on a bench. He's in a leopard print. I can't really see blood on him, but At long last, authorities had located their suspect. But they needed to move quickly before he woke up and caused any further destruction. Mr. Pancakes, you're under arrest. Don't move. GET ON YOUR BELLY. Get on your [ __ ] belly. Get on your belly. ON YOUR BELLY. ON YOUR BELLY. ROLL GET ON YOUR BELLY, MR. PANCAKES. ON YOUR BELLY. IN THE NAME OF THE LAW, PANCAKES, GET ON YOUR BELLY. What the [ __ ] is going on? I got one Are you kidding me? What the [ __ ] Give up your other hand. What the [ __ ] That other hand right here. Take one of the guys to you. Get house. There's a lot of blood. Yeah. You want to have a medic come to you? Okay, I'll have a medic start that way. What what did these want, boys? Yeah. Knew we would find him eventually. Good job, Mr. Pancakes. Knew we would find him eventually. Where are the gerbils? >> Where are the gerbils? After restraining him, officers noticed significant amounts of blood seeping from wounds on Matthew's hands. But that was far from the most striking discovery still to come. Just in case nobody mentioned it already, you're under arrest. Think we did like seven times, but Going to roll on my side. You got any clothes on under this? Where is the pink slash light? I said he was taken in for arson. Oh, he saw me in the store. Yeah, what am I even under arrest for? [ __ ] I was walking around. Okay. What happened to your hand? My hands have been up there working all day. I've been working >> I'm hating it. Danny, go ahead. There's a bunch of Look like he tried to get into 5439. What did you guys randomly attack me for? 5439 Robert Street, I copy. And is it okay for the medics to go in? I told them it was. Yep, we got him got down. Good job, Gerbil Bandit. Huh? Said glass? Glass. As Matthew offered flimsy explanations for his injuries, officers were already on the verge of confirming exactly what the witness had reported. There's a dog collar. Snake. I took it for a walk. The hell am I under arrest for, seriously? Felony. Theft. Criminal damaging. Oh god, there is a Using animals Oh, there's gerbils in there. >> Yeah, definitely animals will be animal abuse. What the heck? I got a gerbil. What the heck? Multiple gerbils gerbils in his pants. What the pull? Multiple gerbils recovered. Okay. We were just advising that our suspect has multiple gerbils in his pants. Okay, I did want the medics to know about that. Astonishingly, two live gerbils were recovered from inside Matthew's pants. And against all odds, both appeared completely unharmed. The scene quickly shifted from shocking to absurd as officers struggled to get the gerbils under control. [ __ ] in there, too. I don't do rats. They're gerbils, not a rat. It's a gerbil. It's a gerbil. I mean Breaking and entering. We've told you multiple times. There's blood all over you and you have merchandise that you stole. And gerbils. And gerbils that you stole and abused, clearly. Cody, do you know what you got to do? That's going to be the 152. 152. Gerbil recovered. Did you try to run over the driver I drove over multiple times on the detective channel and all that? >> a bag for them? Um they're not injured. Let them give a [ __ ] They're traumatized enough. I mean I Yeah, I'll try to pull over again. Oh, these are some huge gerbils, dude. If you don't get a hold of them on private property, reach out to robbery. The robbery detective saw you walking over there. Who uh let's throw him in a cruiser here. Go ahead. Somebody grab the other side. All right, we're going to have you sit up. Good god. Grab that side and we'll stand on up. 1 2 3. Yep. Matthew offered no explanation for what he had done and was taken into custody without further incident. Officers took a moment before wrapping up to document what had been, without question, an unforgettable night. Oh, this is crazy. It's never ending. What's up, man? Yes, probably. There's glass falling out all over the place. Watch out. What are you going to do? They don't have a long hair. Who drove that one? Was that you guys? We came out here. Cuz you're right by him. Well, we they were These people were like shouting Have you touched anything? I was like looking Would you do me a favor and put my glasses away? Wait, look at his face. Before I see it. Thank you. Do you just want to sit up? Yeah, just push bumper until Push bumper's fine. You got him. All of the gerbils survived and were safely returned to Pet Land. Matthew Pancakes, who quickly earned the nickname the Gerbil Bandit, was charged with three counts of breaking and entering. He initially pleaded not guilty, but on September 17th, 2024, Matthew entered a plea deal and pleaded guilty to all three counts. He was sentenced to 12 months in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and ordered to pay a fine of up to $2,500. Oh, he's