A quick-thinking restaurant owner in Gloucester learned that a frozen ham can be an effective defense against a robber. On Wednesday, the restaurant owner came upon a man who was in the process of liberating meat from the owner's fridge. Not sure why he went for the meat instead of the money, but alleged robbers aren't always the brightest of bulbs.

A waitress asked, "Who's that guy carrying meat down the street?" (We ask this of ourselves all the time.) The restaurant owner immediately took off after the purloiner of pork. The owner, who is a tough-looking mother, began to reclaim his food, but the--ahem--hamburglar must have really wanted the stolen meat. He allegedly threatened the restaurant owner with a prosciutto log.

The owner was having none of it and countered with the frozen ham, effectively clocking the guy, who dropped the meat and ran. Police haven't found him yet.

All charges alleged until proven under law. The Hamburglar is on the left. Image from Wikipedia under fair use.