AP Photo/Matt SaylesJustin Bieber, watch out! Not even your cardboard doppelgänger is safe from overly obsessed superfans.
A Florida man was arrested Monday for attempting to make off with a life-size Biebs cutout from a Tampa-area record store.
And the best part—the suspect and Bieber have the exact same haircut!
According to the police affidavit obtained by the Manatee County Sheriff's Department, 23-year-old David Dowling walked into an F.Y.E. store with a friend (whose name was withheld because he/she is a minor) and jacked the standee.
They subsequently made their getaway through a nearby Sears store, whose "loss prevention" security cameras caught the less-than-dynamic duo on tape. By that point, an F.Y.E. assistant manager had caught up with them and retrieved poor Cardboard Justin.
The suspects tried to flee, but were apprehended a little later hiding out behind some bushes outside the mall and taken into custody.
Authorities also say Dowling and his partner-in-crime tore a $1.99 signage label off the cutout, which was priced at $34.99, destroying it. Dowling is also accused of lying to officers about his identity.
Dowling was booked on charges of petty theft and giving a false name while lawfully detained. He remains locked up in the county clink in lieu of $120 bond.
Did he just a bad case of Bieber Fever clouding his brain?
Nope. Dowling thought it was some kind of awesome joke.
In a post-arrest statement, Dowling told the cops their motivation for the heist: "We were just having fun holding Justin Bieber hostage."
Guess the joke's on him.