In a stunning case of alleged of retail theft that makes little sense to anybody, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Mike Leake(notes) was arrested and booked Monday afternoon for allegedly stealing $59.88 worth of merchandise from a Macy's department store in downtown Cincy.

 

The second-year righthander, in case you're wondering, makes $425,000 a year and received a $2.3 million signing bonus after being drafted out of Arizona State.

 

Cincinnati.com is on the case:

 

Leake is accused of stealing six American Rag T-shirts from the store, removing the security tags and leaving the store without paying for them.

 

Police said the incident was caught on security cameras at the Downtown Macy's.

 

Six $9.99 t-shirts?! Hopefully it turns out to be a misunderstanding (like the case of saggy pants mall ejectee Dez Bryant), but at the moment Mr. Leake stands to spend up to 180 days in jail if convicted of this misdemeanor.

 

That would be about 180 more days than he's spent in the minor leagues, of course. To date, Leake had been noted for a meteoric rise to the Reds major league rotation — entirely bypassing the minors — after being a first-round pick of the club in 2009.

 

UPDATE: The Reds have made a statement. Via Mark Sheldon's blog at MLB.com:

 

"On behalf of the Cincinnati Reds organization, at this time we are advised to not publicly address this matter because of the pending legal proceedings. However, we do not condone behavior of the type alleged, which is wholly inconsistent with the principles of this organization and our community and is detrimental to the positive direction we seek to follow. When the legal process has been completed, we will handle this matter internally."

 

People steal for reasons other than need, and here's another strange aspect of this case: Leake, or someone acting as Leake, actually tweeted not long after being processed by the police.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Reds-pitcher-Mike-Leake-booked-for-stealing-from?urn=mlb-wp3741

 

 

 

He was caught... red handed.

 

Wait, I have another one!

 

So is it safe to say he has a... red right hand?

 

Ok, I'm done.

Better dead than red!

 

The shirts were $9.98 if 6 of them --> $59.88 of merchandise. Silly journalist smh

 

What an idiot, wow. That's a very good statement by the Reds; their legal/PR people are doing their job nicely.

Stupid, risk screwing up your career for $60 worth of shirts.

That;s amazing...

Man how dumb can people get?

Sounds to me like he could be a kleptomaniac or maybe he happened to forget his wallet at home that day lol

Extremely odd story

Yeah that is just moronic. Way to risk your career dude. Try opening the purse strings next time.

I think it's obvious he was going to take them home, sign them, and return them to the store to be auctioned off towards a charity of his choice.

I think it's obvious he was going to take them home, sign them, and return them to the store to be auctioned off towards a charity of his choice.

 

 

Nice try, defense lawyer.

Macy's does do a good job with American Rag :shifty

Probably a klepto.

Probably a klepto.

Probably a klepto.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What?

If the shirt doesn't fit, you must acquit!

 

What? It does fit? Oh... back to the drawing board.

Amazing. He is now the male Lindsay Lohan ! :shifty

Amazing. He is now the male Lindsay Lohan ! :shifty

 

 

 

Should we be worried???????????

 

=]

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

 

 

Would be awkward after a couple of drinks when he says he's away to take a Leake

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

 

 

Be sure to check your wallet afterward...ya know, just to make sure nothing's missing

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

 

 

Be sure to check your wallet afterward...ya know, just to make sure nothing's missing

He needs to check his closet for missing clothing articles, not his wallet.

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

 

 

Be sure to check your wallet afterward...ya know, just to make sure nothing's missing

He needs to check his closet for missing clothing articles, not his wallet.

 

These things start off small..first it's some clothes and then it's wallets..then zebras at zoos...ya never know

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

 

 

Be sure to check your wallet afterward...ya know, just to make sure nothing's missing

He needs to check his closet for missing clothing articles, not his wallet.

 

These things start off small..first it's some clothes and then it's wallets..then zebras at zoos...ya never know

Then the Eiffel Tower...

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

 

 

Would be awkward after a couple of drinks when he says he's away to take a Leake

 

Nicely done.

I would love to have a couple of cold ones with this guy!

 

 

Be sure to check your wallet afterward...ya know, just to make sure nothing's missing

He needs to check his closet for missing clothing articles, not his wallet.

 

These things start off small..first it's some clothes and then it's wallets..then zebras at zoos...ya never know

Then the Eiffel Tower...

 

Well let's not get carried away now...

Amazing. He is now the male Lindsay Lohan ! :shifty

 

 

 

Think bleaching the hair blond, wearing a miniskirt and show some "cleavage" may help?? :lol