Brookhaven police arrested the Grinch Wednesday morning after a concerned citizen reported seeing him at a bank on Hwy. 51.

Brookhaven Police Department Det.  Cpt. Clint Earls and Det. Sgt. LaToya Beacham responded to Pike National Bank and placed the Grinch in handcuffs.

The green fuzzy creature was dressed in a Santa Claus hat, coat and shoes and overheard saying, “I must find some way to stop Christmas from coming!”

After a quick examination at a nearby medical facility —  during which the Grinch was discovered to have a heart two sizes too small — the creature suspected of being up to no good was released.

The concerned citizen, who wished not to be named, said he heard the Grinch planning to make his dog into a reindeer.

Officials offered assurances that Christmas would still come to Brookhaven and Lincoln County.

Det. Cpt. Earls chose not to make a statement.