WATCH: Thief hides on shelf for hours in failed attempt to rob Houston-area dollar store

Sometimes, there’s just no substitute for a would-be-thief making a giant mistake.

A complicated plan to allegedly rob a Houston-area dollar store ended in complete failure Tuesday after one man hid out on store shelves for hours until the store closed – only to realize the store had motion sensors.

In surveillance video released by the Family Dollar Store in Houston, Texas, we see the somewhat elaborate “plot” unfold.

Cameras capture two men entering the store Tuesday night, and while they don’t seem to be familiar with one another, police allege that was part of the plan.

The first man heads to one of the aisles and begins pulling boxes from the shelf, in order to hide himself among the products.

The second man then comes along and “re-stocks” the boxes, effectively hiding the first man, who was now nestled in amongst the other products on the shelf.

Then the second man pays for some candy and paper plates and leaves the store.

“They thought they had a great plan, but it didn’t really work out for them,” Sgt. J.B. Haney of the Houston Police Department told KHOU News in Houston.

The now-concealed man hides on the shelf for over two hours, as store employees close up shop.

Once the lights are out and everyone has left, the suspect emerges from his hiding spot – and that’s when the master scheme hits a snag.

Turns out the store is equipped with motion sensors, and his emergence immediately triggered the alarm.

Defeated, the man quickly beats a retreat out the back door, leaving empty-handed.

“It is mind-boggling why they went through all that and didn’t grab something on the way out. I would have gotten me something on the way out,” said Sgt. Haney.