McDonald's Soda Theft Gets Mark Abaire Arrested On Felony Charge

Mark Abaire allegedly stole a cup of soda at a Naples McDonald's -- now he's charged with felony theft.

It was the ultimate heist: ask for a free cup for water, but fill it with soda.

That's the alleged plot that 52-year-old Mark Abaire hatched on Thursday before he was caught by Florida McDonald's employees and charged with felony theft, the Naples Daily News reported.

Abaire -- whose aliases include Red, Clown Red and Clown -- entered the Naples franchise at about 10 p.m. and asked for a cup of water. Then he allegedly snuck some pop into the cup, despite a conversation with an employee that he couldn't do so, the Sun Sentinel reported.

The soda was valued at $1.

"Clown Red" allegedly refused to leave the burger joint, so a manager called cops.

Abaire was charged with felony petty theft because he had previous theft convictions, among other crimes. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of trespassing and disorderly conduct. He faces five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

From our partners

• 14 Adorable Beetles That Won’t Make You Scream In Terror - TheFW.com
• Rod Stewart's Steroid Use Shrunk His Penis - msnNOW.com
• WATCH: Rodeo Clown BACKFLIPS Over Bull - BroBible.com

Comments

[Cunningham]

06:58 AM on 05/15/2012

And banksters who crashed our economy (and will again) get multi-million dollar annual bonuses.

Something is very wrong with this picture.

[sahk3]

12:20 PM on 05/14/2012

Obviously came upon his nickname honestly

[VitoIncognito]

07:37 AM on 04/26/2012

This is the problem with prisons. They lock up guys like this for the most petty things, but let the real criminals get away with a slap on the wrist.

Sick people who abuse animals don't even face this much time! Ridiculous.

[romano70]

12:43 PM on 04/26/2012

As an animal lover I have to agree with you, But keep your eyes in the big picture: A kid goes to jail for smoking pot but the criminals in Wall Street are still on the loose AND making money. How is that for blind justice?

[heboprotagonist]

07:50 PM on 04/25/2012

With a name like "Red Clown" you'd think that McD's would've treated him nicer.

[JoeMomma]

03:43 PM on 04/25/2012

You can steal hundreds of billions from the people, and nobody goes to jail. But steal $0.16 from a corporation and you are looking at 5 years.

[Jane Gulbronson Riddle]

03:20 PM on 04/25/2012

And the real crooks who ruined our country are still collecting outrageous bonuses.....and have not been arrested yet.....SHAME ON AMERICA!!!!

[Scent]

02:27 AM on 04/25/2012

Good. So nw we knoe how much a dollar is worth in prison time.

The next step would be t multiply it by everything any Wall Street board member made and send them to jail for that amount of time-

[oaoroho]

12:25 AM on 04/25/2012

I'm sure this is exactly the type of publicity the corporate exes responsible for maintain the image of McDonalds loves.
I won't express to much concern with costs of imprisonment and court proceedings like many have, but will say it's probable going to be a few 100s of thousands of dollars more then value of the soda he supposedly stole.
Ok so the guy took a bit of soda, no big deal. What was the situation behind his refusal to leave the restaurant and why does it have to turn into a felony case? Did he do something more that forced the hand of the responding officers? If these police showed up and instantly decided it was required to slap on the cuffs and hang this man for 5 years then that's as pathetic as someone actually being charged for theft over filling a 6oz water glass with 1/2 a cents of soda.

[Wyldstaar]

06:11 PM on 04/25/2012

I have dealings with the homeless on a regular basis through my work, and this is very typical behavior. There doesn't have to be a reason for a homeless person to refuse to leave. Not a reasonable one, anyway. A large percentage of the homeless population suffer from untreated psychiatric disorders. As long as they are not a danger to themselves or others, they cannot legally be confined, forced into treatment or to take the medication they need against their will in regard to their mental issues.

The felony charge would have been applied after being taken to jail, not before or during the arrest. This is common practice across the country for any habitual offender. Most homeless have a never ending string of arrest warrants on them for theft, public intoxication, trespassing, loitering for the purpose of begging, etc. They never show up to court, pay their fines, show up for community service or show up for indigency hearings to get their cases dismissed at no cost. As such, any time a homeless person has dealings with the police, there's a high likelihood they are going to jail on warrants from previous cases in addition to whatever trouble they are currently getting themselves into.

[Cunningham]

07:02 AM on 05/15/2012

"A large percentage of the homeless population suffer from untreated psychiatric disorders. As long as they are not a danger to themselves or others, they cannot legally be confined, forced into treatment or to take the medication they need against their will in regard to their mental issues."

We can thank Ronald Reagan for destroying mental health services and institutions and creating our homeless society.

[hcwcars]

11:15 PM on 04/24/2012

Some people are to stupid to breath

[Sinned39]

01:16 PM on 04/25/2012

...some are too stupid to spell correctly...

[romano70]

12:45 PM on 04/26/2012

LOL.....you nailed it in the head

[Wyldstaar]

10:49 PM on 04/24/2012

"Clown Red" allegedly refused to leave the burger joint, so a manager called cops.

I can't help but notice than almost every outraged poster on the board has completely ignored this key sentence in the article. The guy was given the opportunity to leave with no consequences! All he had to do was walk out the door, but he refused.

[laurenproof12]

11:39 AM on 04/25/2012

Most posters don't read the articles.

[JoeMomma]

03:44 PM on 04/25/2012

It sounds like he was homeless and needed a place to live.

[OmegaHunter]

04:10 PM on 04/25/2012

It sounds like you're making wild assumptions to pardon the several "How come can get away with but this guy goes to jail over a soda?" posts you've made.

You really should stop with those too. They aren't as intelligent or insightful as you seem to think they are.

[Wyldstaar]

06:22 PM on 04/25/2012

Yes, this is probably true. This does not justify his actions in a civilized society. He asked for a cup of water, and was given the opportunity to do so free of charge. McDonald's was under no obligation to do so, but the were willing to give a thirsty man the water he needed anyway. He was the one who decided to steal soda instead. He was the one who refused to leave when asked to do so. In the USA, every adult is responsible for their own actions. Now he will have to deal with the consequences of his actions.

[Sanders McGrillin]

08:30 PM on 04/24/2012

Sweet!!! The TAXPAYERS get to take care of this guy for 5 YEARS because of $0.16 worth of soda pop taken from McDonalds, the fast food restaraunt with 48% of the entire fast food restaruant market share....
I think McDonalds should have to pay to keep him locked up for 5 years, $100,000+ doesn't seem fair to the US Taxpayers who are going to be supporting him in prison....
good times America!

[watson185]

01:53 AM on 04/25/2012

So, its okay to steal?

[Sanders McGrillin]

03:04 PM on 04/25/2012

No, but there are other ways to punish these individuals instead of thowing them into a bloated prison system that keeps draining our country

[camanokat]

07:36 PM on 04/25/2012

Only if you're a bank executive.

[Americatheteenager]

06:21 AM on 04/25/2012

What is a restaraunt (sic!)?

[JoeMomma]

06:18 PM on 04/24/2012

Kill the gulf. No problem. Steal a soft drink? Felony. Sick country.

[Bikerted]

06:16 PM on 04/24/2012

The food cost for this item would be about 16 cents with the average amount of ice added to the drink.

[Cory Griffith]

08:04 PM on 04/24/2012

You are incorrect. Soda costs 1/10 of a penny for the corporation. I'm a former Manager.

[les2sparks]

10:11 AM on 04/25/2012

as a former swing manager i know for a fact that they waste more than that in a single day that they could donate to charities instead of trashing it.

[bill111]

03:04 PM on 04/24/2012

I am sure it's not the 1st time someone took soda instead of water. I have done it by accident. They have a small tab for water that you are suppose to push for water on the same despenser for soda. I pushed the wrong one and ended up with soda. To prevent this, an emlpoyee should fill you container, but wait, a customer can serve himself and save you millions of dollars in labor costs, so it's a trade off. Let the man go.

[Juan Ganem]

02:55 PM on 04/24/2012

the criminal justice system is SICK if the man was thisty how can he be charged with a felony.. something is awfully wrong.. people´s brains have to re-wired.. maybe too much of technology that´s clouding people´s brains... CONFUSOUD

[huhwut]

03:10 PM on 04/24/2012

He asked for a FREE cup of water and proceeded to fill the cup with soda,which he did not pay for. The reason it became a felony is because of his prior theft convictions.(ie:repeat offender)

Not too difficut to understand,really...

[JoeMomma]

06:19 PM on 04/24/2012

Yes it is, really....

[Cory Griffith]

08:05 PM on 04/24/2012

As a former McDonald's Manager, the corporation taught us in BSM (management class required to be a manager) if they they were spending money just let them have the soda. its 95% profit all McDonald's pays for is the CO2 and cups, lids, and straws.

[watson185]

01:59 AM on 04/25/2012

So, he gets a pass? Apparently he has had several passes. This man was not quenching a thirst. He was stealing a product. What he was doing is akin to shoplifting. The value of the product is not the issue. The action of the individual is the issue.