Frosting flies in courthouse cake struggle, arrest
KELSO, Wash. -- Everyone knows the tune:
It's not his birthday, but he'll steal a cake if he wants to. Steal a cake if he wants to.
No? Well, one 50-year-old man took this made up tune to heart Tuesday at the Cowlitz County Hall of Justice when he twice tried to eat a little girl's birthday cake against the wishes of the birthday girl's mother and police officers.
According to The Daily News of Longview, the incident started when Michelle Flavin brought a cake into the courthouse and asked security officers if they could keep an eye on the cake while she assisted her sister in the courthouse. She said she couldn't leave the cake in her car because the dog would take a bite.
Security officers gladly complied to keep an eye on the sweet treat, but just after the woman brought the cake through the metal detector, 50-year-old Robert Eric Fredrickson allegedly plunged a grubby hand into the delicious frosting.
Flavin protested, telling the man she did not appreciate him ruining the cake.
"I got pissed when he stuck his hand in it the first time," Flavin told the Daily News. "I was like, 'Hey!'"
But Fredrickson allegedly ignored the protest and went back for seconds. Deputies jumped on Fredrickson, tackling him -- and unfortunately the cake -- to the ground. Multiple police officers wrestled with him as frosting flew. To add to the scene, the Daily News reported, a woman ran into the courthouse during the melee to yell that Fredrickson was not high.
Officers eventually managed to restrain Fredrickson, but not before they themselves were covered in delicious purple and white frosting, the Daily News reported. Face covered in frosting, Fredrickson was booked into jail on suspicion of third-degree theft. He also faces charges of resisting arresting.
The cake was considered a total loss. Luckily, a local Safeway offered to replace the girl's birthday cake for free.