Man Accused Of Fowl Play In Turkey Burglary

HOLIDAY, Fla.—When Delores Kietzer and a friend recently purchased four frozen turkeys, they never expected one to get away.

But one 16-pound bird—with a little bit of help—flew the coop Wednesday night.

Fortunately for members of the North Buena Vista Civic Association, the turkey didn’t get very far.

A deputy spotted the fowl in the arms of a 21-year-old Holiday man who lives about a quarter mile away.

After learning the clubhouse at 2026 Orange Drive had been broken into, Kietzer realized one of two turkeys that were being stored in the refrigerator was missing. The other one was left behind and the other two were safely resting in a freezer chest.

Kietzer said hotdogs and a DVD player were also stolen.

All four birds had been purchased on sale at Sweetbay Supermarket for about $8 apiece in preparation of a Thanksgiving Day feast for members, she said.

When a deputy first encountered the man—and the turkey—Pasco County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kevin Doll said, he didn’t realize the civic association clubhouse had been burglarized. When questioned about the turkey, Allen M. Thurston, 21, told the deputy he swiped the bird from a Winn-Dixie. The deputy took him to the store and tried to return it but learned it didn’t come from there, Doll said.

At some point, a deputy learned about the civic association burglary and realized the turkey matched the description of property taken from the clubhouse, a sheriff’s office report states.

Thurston told deputies he took it because he was hungry.

According to the National Turkey Federation Web site, however, Thurston would likely have to wait 2 1/2 to 4 days to eat that turkey because that’s how long it takes to defrost one that size.

He told deputies, according to his arrest affidavit, that he and two buddies used a paint scraper to break into the building.

He was arrested on charges of burglary and petit theft. Thurston, 4244 Keebler Lane, was being held at the Land O’ Lakes Jail with bail set at $5,150. The two other suspects remain at large, Doll said.

Meanwhile, Kietzer has been reunited with the turkey

“They returned it to us,“ she said. “It didn’t hurt it at all.“

She even thinks preparations for the feast will be a bit easier because of the break-in.

“The joke was, we don’t have to cook the one because it’s hot.“

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