Thief with chainsaw in his pants doesn't get very far

CHICKASHA, Oklahoma - For a store that's been around almost a hundred years, Ross Seed Company is no stranger to shoplifters.

But their most recent certainly merits recognition.

"This is a little unique simply because of how large the item was," explains Chickasha Police Assistant Chief Elip Moore

An Echo chainsaw was the thief's target. But he didn't simply grab it and run. He tried to hide it.

"I felt sorry for him,” said Richard Largent, and Ross employee. “I thought the gentleman was crippled."

But 21-year-old Anthony Black wasn’t crippled, or injured. Intoxicated, maybe. But he was walking funny because he had a chainsaw stuck down his pants.

Employee George Graham saw it happen, and said the ruse was “obvious.”

“I seen the bar between his legs,” he said.

The chase was on.

Employees cornered Black in a nearby field, where he ditched the chainsaw, climbed a tree, and scrambled down into someone’s house.

When the person inside kicked him out, the Ross employees chased Black to a creek where he dove in—headfirst.

Police say Black appeared drunk when they pulled him out and arrested him. George Graham says Black is just lucky that’s the worst he got, considering the stunt he pulled.

"He coulda cut himself up real good. He would have been walking with a permanent limp."