Man wearing allegedly stolen panda sweatshirt arrested after being found in zoo gift store

San Diego police have arrested a man they say apparently helped himself to a panda sweatshirt after breaking into a gift store at the San Diego Zoo early Tuesday.

Police were called shortly before 1 a.m. by a security guard who saw a shirtless man, identified as Taylor Elliot Maddox, carrying a stick near the front gate of the zoo, Officer Dino Delimitros said. Before officers arrived, the man apparently got onto the zoo grounds.

“We got there and found him in a gift store,” Delimitros said. “First he was seen with no shirt on, then he was seen with a panda shirt on and was looking in the mirrors and stuff.”

At one point, the man had donned a baseball cap he apparently picked up in the store, according to video shot by San Diego News Video. He did not respond to officers but was eventually arrested.

Maddox, 29, was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of burglary and possession of illegal drug paraphernalia.

Kucher writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. City News Service contributed to this report.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @karenkucher