Would-be thief hid on shelf for hours in failed attempt to rob store

Police say it was an elaborate scheme that didn't pay off for two criminals at a north Houston Family Dollar store. The pair are seen on surveillance video posing as customers in store. The men don't appear to know each other on the video footage, but police believe that was part of their plan. At one point, one of the suspects began removing boxes containing garbage boxes from a shelf.

He then crawled onto the shelf. The other man, seen holding a shopping basket, looks around to make sure the coast is clear and proceeds to restock the shelf. This all happened while employees and customers were inside. "They thought they had a great plan, but it didn't really work out for them," said Sgt. J.B. Haney with Houston Police Department. "It's comical. It's kind of funny. It's one I'll remember for a while."



Police say the man who restocked the shelf bought candy and paper plates and left the store. The suspect who was hidden on the shelf waited patiently for employees to close the store. "I'd say that was a pretty big sacrifice on his part," said Sgt. Haney. After the employees left the store at around 11pm on Tuesday night, the man on the shelf made his move. Police say he probably wasn't expecting that the security alarm would immediately go off.

It was activated by a motion sensor. The criminal is seen on video exiting out the back door empty handed. "It is mind boggling why they went through all that and didn't grab something on the way out. I would have gotten me something on the way out," added Sgt. Haney. Employees at the store they couldn't comment because of corporate policy. Investigators believe the two men were using walkie-talkies to communicate during the crime.

With news video.