Virginia Beach, Va. - Leo Freuh admits he stole an exotic bird at Animal Jungle on Holland Road last month, to impress the mother of his two children.
"She handed the bird back to me, and told me to go pay for it and then I didn’t, I just kept walking out the door with it,” says Freuh.
Freuh says he wasn't thinking clearly that day.
He thought it was in the clear, a month had gone by and nothing had happened.
He says he even went back to the scene of the crime and bought birdseed!
Freuh says he wanted to take the bird back, but worried he'd get in trouble.
What changed his mind?
"When my mom comes to the door and knocks on the door and says I'm all over the news,” says Freuh.
Related:
Update: Two arrested in theft of $800 bird in Virginia Beach
Freuh says the images that kept playing on TV made him feel embarrassed, so he went to return the bird Wednesday.
"It's a joke. I should have never done it. I wanted to apologize for stealing the bird."
