Man accused of stealing cake from Madonna Inn won't face charges

The San Luis Obispo Police Department announced Tuesday afternoon that they will not be pursuing criminal charges against a man they say stole a $35 cake from a display case at the Madonna Inn.

According to a news release from the police, Madonna Inn owner Connie Madonna-Pearce contacted the department and expressed that the business no longer wanted to press charges against Shea Patrick Martin, 44, of Morro Bay.

According to the news release, the cake has been paid for and the business owners “want to consider the case closed.”

The department will not be sending the police report to the District Attorney’s Office for review.

Shea’s alleged theft gained notoriety after Madonna-Pearce posted surveillance video footage of the Feb. 8 incident on the social media website Facebook in the hopes that someone would identify the thief.

The effort was successful, and police asked the Morro Bay Police Department to contact Martin at his Morro Bay home. When they arrived at the house, however, Martin allegedly fled out a back door.

Shortly after, the San Luis Obispo Police Department received a phone call allegedly from Martin admitting to the theft and saying that he would turn himself in to the police station, but he later called to say he wasn’t coming in.

A few days later, according to San Luis Obispo police Lt. Bill Proll, an unidentified female came in to the Madonna Inn and paid for the cake.

This story was originally published February 18, 2014 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Man accused of stealing cake from Madonna Inn won't face charges."