A flat-screen television inside a man's pants proved none too difficult for a police officer to spot outside a Wal-Mart in Eagan.

That sharp eye led to the arrest of Eric Lee King, 21, of Columbia Heights, who was charged Friday with a shoplifting misdemeanor and a felony on suspicion of illegally possessing a potent prescription drug.

According to the charges:

On Dec. 5, a police officer in the Wal-Mart parking lot off of Pilot Knob Road saw King leave the business and drop a box of candy. The officer called out to let him know, but King did not respond and kept walking through the lot, his legs stiff and feet shuffling.

The officer, seeing King holding onto the front of his pants as they fell down in the back, drove up to him and honked his horn. King still ignored the officer.

The officer identified himself to King and handcuffed him after King reached into his pants. It was then that the officer noticed a large, square item -- a 19-inch flat-screen TV -- wrapped in plastic down the front of King's pants.

King also had other items in his trousers, among them a TV remote control, power cords and a bottle of brake fluid.

Two pills later determined to be Xanax were found in a rear pants pocket.

PAUL WALSH