A Florida man who tried to pawn his baby at a store in Sarasota, and sparked a massive police manhunt, claimed the bizarre episode was a prank.
In the footage he posted on Snapchat, Brian Slocum walks up to store owner Richard Jordan with his baby Caden, saying: ‘What do you think he’s worth?’
Jordan then contacted the police and dozens of police officers arrived at his door.
Slocum contacted police to explain what happened and he will face no charges.
A Florida man who tried to pawn his baby at a local store and then posted footage of the bizarre incident online has spoken out to insist it was a prank after being reported to the police.
Brian Slocum was filmed going into a pawn shop in Sarasota, Florida, on Tuesday with his seven-month-old son, both on security cameras and on his cell phone.
He intended it to be a prank and uploaded the video to Snapchat but the store owner thought he was serious and reported him to the authorities.
He spoke out on Thursday to insist that no harm was done to his baby and that it was all a joke.
The store owner then called the police and a massive manhunt ensued which ended in dozens of police showing up outside Brian Slocum’s door.
Footage that Slocum posted on Snapchat shows him walking up to store owner Richard Jordan and putting his seven-month-old son Caden on the counter in a holder, saying: ‘How are you doing buddy, this is what I got.
‘No one under 18 in here, but he’s barely used, he’s seven and a half month’s old, what do you think he’s worth?. Just a pawn, I don’t want to get rid of him.’
Jordan immediately called the police after Slocum left as he was disturbed by the encounter.
Soon dozens of officers arrived at Slocum’s home and the incident was picked up by several media outlets.
Jordan told WFLA: ‘The weirdest, strangest situation we’ve ever encountered. He put it on the counter, he was pretty serious about it. He spun the baby around, and said- “Can I pawn this?.”
‘This is not funny! This is not funny, this is serious business,’ Jordan added.
Slocum later contacted local authorities after realizing police had released the video and were searching for him.
He claimed he filmed the encounter as a joke after his nephew asked him to make ‘silly videos.’
Speaking from his home, Slocum told WFLA: ‘I was thinking I’d go in there and the guy would be like, “Oh if it was my son, I’d give you ten grand or something,'” said Slocum.
‘It was a prank, it was skit and a lot of these young people don’t realize that doing things like this has a consequence.
He added: ‘There is nothing in the world that I would trade for my son, he is my world nor any money is worth him.’
Slocum contacted law enforcement after seeing he was on the news and dozens of officers descended on his home.
‘They [police] didn’t find it funny or hilarious at all and there was a lot of resources and time and money that went into it.’
In a statement, the Sarasota Police Department said that Slocum will not face criminal charges.
They also thanked Richard Jordan for contacting him, nothing that he took Slocum’s comments and actions ‘very serious.’
They added: ‘During this investigation, the Sarasota Police Department was contacted by Mr Slocum who wanted to give a statement on what occurred.
‘Mr. Slocum learned that he was on social media and that police were attempting to identify him. Mr Slocum claims that his encounter with the store clerk was a prank and that he wanted to place his own video on social media.
‘Detectives verified the child was safe and contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families Services as part of this investigation.’
