Investigators believe Michael Younger, 50, stole the Bobcat mini excavating machine from a nearby construction site,
ABC7CHICAGO news reports.
Chicago's
NBC5 News says the site was the home of the former 15th District police station and the soon-to-be home of a community center.
Around 4:15 a.m.,Younger drove the Bobcat about a block and used it to break through the front window of the Family Dollar Store. He stole gift cards and two cans of deodorant, police said.
The Chicago Sun-Times
reports that officers responded to an alarm at the store and caught him near the scene.
According to local reports, when asked about the gift cards, the man may well have told the truth. He told police he simply found the gift cards -- on the ground. Younger said nothing about the deodorant.
Younger's gig was finally up when police compared his image to the one on store surveillance video.
Police arrested him and later charged him with two felony counts of burglary, NBC5 reports.
No money was taken from the Family Dollar.
