He said he was stupid...

It began just a bit before midnight this week and by the time the police caught up to them, the stolen goods were gone. The two did have enough with them though to get themselves arrested though.

Authorities state that Lee Owen Shaffer, 27, of Deltona FL ran out of the Sanford Albertson's market just before midnight on September 10 2007. He made his escape with approximately a dozen packages of steak. This is almost understandable if he was stealing them to try and feed himself and his family.

That wasn't the case though because by the time police caught up with him and his getaway driver minutes later, he had traded the steaks for crack cocaine. Seminole County deputy sheriffs spotted the 1995 full-size Chevrolet pickup, that had been reported stolen by Volusia County authorities, just a few minutes past midnight that night. They attempted to block the truck at a stop sign but the driver plowed into the the patrol cars and ended up stuck in the grass nearby.

An Albertson's employee who was driven to the scene of the crash and arrests, identified Shaffer as the man who had stolen the steaks, worth approximately $150. Shaffer is being held on $3,500 and charged with shoplifting, possession of cocaine and possession of a cocaine pipe. Gregory Allen Short, 30, also of Deltona, was being held at the Seminole County Jail on $10,500 bail and charged with driving with a suspended license, aggravated fleeing and eluding, auto theft and aggravated battery of a police officer.

"I asked him why he rammed my patrol car and he stated that he was stupid," wrote Thomas Bronson.

I hadn't realized the value of steaks beyond just eating them but judging from how quickly Shaffer traded them, there must be a fairly good resale value for steaks on the street these days. Short it would seem, was bright enough to admit he wasn't that bright.