- This is one of those stories that just gets wilder the longer it goes on.
Most town have that one legendary eccentric individual. They may not be the best person, or even a good person for that matter, but everybody knows them.
That’s generally because they pull stunts like this.
Jonathan Mason is a resident of Murray, Kentucky. The 40-year-old who owns a farm outside of town is locally known as “Cowboy Cody.”
He lives up to the nickname, often riding into town on a mule he owns. He’s even led the cops on more than one drunken chase on his beast of burden.
But we’re not here for the mule today. No, the star of today’s story is a raccoon.
A raccoon that Cowboy Cody trapped on his farm. And then sicced on the employees of a bar when they wouldn’t let him in.
Yeah. It’s stuff like this why everyone knows Cody.
Night on the Town
The raccoon-flinging incident took place on June 6, according to a statement from the Murray Police Department. On the day, Cowboy Cody had trapped a mischievous raccoon on his farm.
After a hard week of doing whatever he does, Cody felt like he’d earned a drink. So, he decided to pop into town to celebrate the Friday night.
On this excursion, however, he didn’t ride his mule, but a regular automobile. That said, he took the raccoon with him.
Look, we’re not going to question the guy. This is just the kind of thing you do when you’re Cowboy Cody from Kentucky.
Now, Cody reportedly had started drinking before arriving downtown. Whether he did it while driving or at some bar, we don’t know.
That’s beside the point anyway. What’s important is that around 9 p.m., Cody arrived at the Big Apple Bar & Grill.
Banned for Life
The Big Apple had previously banned Cody over something dubbed a “drunken mule incident.” We couldn’t find out what happened, but we’re sure you can use your imagination.
Cody arrived, and the bar staff instantly went on high alert. Mary Hafner, who has worked at the bar for five years, stepped forward to deal with the intruder.
She told the New York Post that Cody had always liked her, so she hoped she could get him to leave without causing trouble.
“I came out from around the bar and asked him nicely to leave. He said to me, ‘Oh, I see how it is, they sent a pretty face out here to distract me,’” recalled Hafner.
Yet, it seemed to work, as Cowboy Cody stepped out without grumbling. The staff breathed a big sigh of relief — and promptly sucked it back in when Cody returned.
With the raccoon.
‘Crazy Stuff’
Cody strolled in with the raccoon walking by his side. The creature was obviously not very happy with the situation.
“It was more scared than anything. It was pretty upsetting for him,” Hafner said of the critter.
She asked the other employees to step back and let her deal with the raccoon, but not everyone listened. One of them tried grabbing the raccoon by its tail.
All hell broke loose. The raccoon immediately retaliated by biting the restaurant employee, before scurrying off under the chairs and tables.
Security footage from the restaurant reportedly shows the staff crawling on the floor, dodging furniture on their way. Eventually, however, it was Hafner who tamed the raccoon.
She used a bait to lure the raccoon onto a chair. She then threw a towel over it and wrapped it up, finally carrying the bundled-up beast outside.
“I’m no city slicker. I’m a Kentucky girl. I had no problem catching him,” Hafner said.
The bitten worker had to get rabies shots, but otherwise the staff escaped from the incident unharmed.
“I’m a bartender, so you know I’ve seen some crazy stuff in my time. But nothing like this,” mused Hafner.
Outlaw Cowboy
But what about Cowboy Cody? Well, after the raccoon started wreaking havoc, he decided to take his chance to slip out unnoticed.
Unfortunately for him, the bar staff reported the incident to the police. The cops went looking for Cody and found him soon enough.
They noticed Cody driving his car and conducted a traffic stop. However, Cody refused to open his doors or even roll down his windows, defiantly sitting in his car in silence.
Well, the cops wouldn’t have that. According to the official statement, they “removed” him from his vehicle.
Cowboy Cody has now been charged with assault, criminal trespassing, and resisting arrest. He also didn’t have legally required car insurance, so that’s another strike against him.
He’s currently being held at Calloway County Jail.