Square Guy Too Cool to Pass Up

The inflatable SpongeBob SquarePants figure, a movie promotion, is on the roof of many Burger Kings, including this one in Lanham. (Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)

Even police laughed about it. "They had to pay for three fares, not just two," said Cpl. John Shoemaker of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office.

Soon, Mercure and Simon -- along with a bundled-up SpongeBob -- were on their way to Mercure's apartment in Lexington Park. "After we got it, we gave it to a friend's sister, and she gave it to her boyfriend . . . for his birthday," Simon said.

Bill Cocimano, general manager of the Burger King, said he was initially incensed when he found out that his SpongeBob was stolen.

He said that the next day, an employee said "somebody is running his mouth at Great Mills High School that he has SpongeBob in his bedroom. I told them, 'You get me a name, I'll give you 20 bucks.' " He said he soon turned over Mercure's name to police.

Within three hours, police had SpongeBob, Cocimano said. "They said, 'We have one of your employees down here. Come and get him.' " Cocimano said that when he tried to restore SpongeBob to his perch Friday, the inflatable was too badly damaged to hold the air.

Simon and Mercure were arrested Friday and charged with misdemeanor theft of goods worth less than $500 and released pending a court appearance Dec. 15, authorities said.

Although the offense is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $500 fine, Simon and Mercure said they're proud of their achievement.

"Once we got caught by the police, we were like, now we can tell everybody," Simon said.

Said Mercure: "It was a fun experience. I'm loving the attention."