McDonald’s Soda Thief Arrested Again, This Time at Pizza Hut

Last month, a McDonald’s soda thief made headlines across the country after he faced five years in prison for lifting some gratis Coke in a courtesy cup provided by the fast food restaurant for patrons who wish to drink tap water rather than soda during their meals.

52-year-old Mark Francis Abaire is believed to be homeless, and many were sympathetic to the man’s plight despite the fact that the larceny, however petty, was technically stealing. On one hand, no one wants to see homeless people go to jail for stealing beverages that cost the franchise pennies if that, but if the precedent is set that people can fill courtesy cups with soda, soon anarchy will reign and people will be backing pickup trucks up to helpless fast-food joints, sapping their carbonated beverage resources.

What happened in between the McDonald’s soda thief’s arrest and subsequent jail stay isn’t known, but Abaire may be some sort of serial chain restaurant menace- it appears he was arrested again in Collier County, Florida, this time for some sort of incident at Pizza Hut.

Just weeks after being nabbed for interfering with the business of McDonald’s, Abaire was arrested outside a the local Pizza Hut at 3:30 in the morning. According to UPI, Abaire had been in similar trouble before:

“The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said Abaire, who is known to be homeless, was spotted outside a Pizza Hut about 3:30 a.m. Recognizing him from a previous incident at the same Pizza Hut, officers stopped Abaire to speak with him, the police report said… Abaire was arrested at the Pizza Hut in February for trespassing and open-container violations and was banned from the restaurant, the newspaper said.”

The McDonald’s soda thief was charged in the latest incident with misdemeanor trespassing, and told police he was at the restaurant because he dropped his lighter.