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WJBK (Detroit, Michigan) 10 January 11 Lavender Corn Snake Stolen from The Road Show in Roseville (Roop Raj)
Roseville, Mich.: An exotic animal has been stolen from a popular Roseville specialty shop. The heist was caught on surveillance cameras.
Saturday night, business was brisk as usual at The Road Show on Gratiot. The store's owner said it was busy enough for a man to try to swipe a lavender corn snake. It is worth over a hundred dollars with the cage. The whole scheme seemed like a family affair -- his wife and four-year-old son in tow.
"The fact that you would bring a four-year-old kid in here like a decoy … and then walk off with something is really underhanded," said Bruce Hoffman.
He has run The Road Show for nearly 40 years, but he said it is the tough times now that may lead people to see a high priced animal and try to walk off.
"It made me even more upset because his whole attitude. He was so smooth about it … and he was laughing at us," Hoffman said.
Just a week before a turtle was stolen by a woman. Somebody else returned it, but it died.
Hoffman hopes for better luck with the snake and had the following message for the person who stole it.
"I know you're a decent customer in the fact that you would shop in my store. You're no longer a decent customer when you steal from me. Give me a call. We'll see if we can work something out," said Hoffman.
If you have any information about who took the lavender corn snake, you are asked to call Roseville Police.
Lavender Corn Snake Stolen from The Road Show in Roseville

DETROIT NEWS (Michigan) 13 January 11 Slippery snake thief can't slip past surveillance (Charles E. Ramirez)
Roseville: Someone snuck a snake out of an exotic pet boutique on Saturday, but the thief couldn't slither past a surveillance camera.
"We know who he is and we're in the process of obtaining a warrant for his arrest," Roseville Deputy Police Chief James Berlin said Thursday. "It's a simple larceny, but I'm sure it's a big deal to the shop's owner."
Bruce Hoffman, owner of The Roadshow boutique on Gratiot south of 12 Mile, said the stolen lavender corn snake sells for about $80 .
The theft happened Saturday evening and was captured on the store's video surveillance system, he said. The suspect is a white male, ranging in age from his late 20s to early 30s, about six feet tall and weighing about 220 pounds, Hoffman said.
The store's employees noticed the snake and its small aquarium-like tank was missing Monday morning, he said. The store's video shows the man approaching the tank, then leaving the store with a large bulge under his coat.
After the video was broadcast on TV, Hoffman said he and police have received a number of calls from people who know the suspect.
"One person even told me the guy put a picture of the snake on his Facebook page," Hoffman said.
The shop owner said he's spoken to the suspect on the phone since then and is negotiating for the snake's return.
"He said he didn't plan on stealing it," he said. "He took it to give to his son."
Hoffman said he's given the suspect 10 days to return the snake or he'll press charges.
Slippery snake thief can't slip past surveillance