Drunk raccoon behind liquor store rampage suspected of other ‘break-ins’

A raccoon that passed out drunk after running amok in a Virginia liquor store is suspected of two other “break-ins”.

Images of smashed bottles and the animal splayed out next to the toilet went viral last week – but the woman who found him has revealed the raccoon has form.

“This is not the first time he’s been in one of the buildings. This is the third break-in he’s had,” said animal protection officer Samantha Martin.

“He was in the karate studio, I think he got into DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) – ate some of their snacks one time.”

Ms Martin said the “smart little critter” had been removed both times from those businesses, which are in the same complex as the ABC liquor store in Ashland.

“Each time we’d get him out – we don’t relocate him – that’s a death sentence for raccoons but somehow he knows how to get back in this building,” she told local podcast Hear in Hanover.

The comatose raccoon was scooped off the floor and put in a crate to “let him relax for a few hours” at the animal shelter – but was later set free.

“Around one or two o’clock that afternoon he was picking his head up, he was looking good and I released him back out in the woods,” said Ms Martin – who confirmed the raccoon was male.

Racoons are well known for foraging in bins – earning them the “trash panda” nickname – and the animal shelter has seized the moment by partnering with a firm to sell merchandise.

“Trashed Panda” T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and stickers have already raised more than $180,000 (£135,000) to fund improvements at the animal shelter.