A prosecutor in Ohio has indicted everyone's favorite groundhog for fraud after the rodent incorrectly predicted an early spring.
Tired of the cold weather, Butler County Prosecutor Michael T. Gmoser indicted Punxsatawney Phil for one count of misrepresentation of spring - an unclassified felony - against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio.
And the condemned critter better watch out - cold-hearted Gmoser is seeking the death penalty.
“It was kind of one of those brainstorm moments,” Gmoser told ABCNews.com.
”I woke up in a snow storm. The wind was blowing and howling. The temperature was in the teens.”
"Phil let us down."
Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow on February 2nd and did not see his shadow, a sign that spring is on the way.
But Ohio residents have yet to see any signs that winter is ending, with temperatures remaining stubbornly in the 30s and snow continuing to fall.
In his indictment, Gmoser stated that “Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that Spring would come early.”
He cited a snowstorm and record low temperatures in Butler County as evidence that Phil’s was prediction was grossly inaccurate.
Due to the heinous nature of Phil's crime, Gmoser is seeking the death penalty.
“Let’s face it. Phil is already behind bars," he told ABCNews.
"He’s got a life sentence…There’s no sentence left for Phil.”
But the prosecutor will have to contend with legions of Phil fans in Pennsylvania and he suspects that the rodent's hometown is already preparing for his defense.
”They’re probably going to claim that he didn’t know his rear end from a hole in a ground,” Gmoser said.
Punxsutawney Phil typically has an 80 percent accuracy rate, according to Accuweather.
Apparently this is not his year.
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