Cops say thief in her 70s took red kettle
- From: indigoace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Indigo Ace)
- Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:18:01 GMT
From the Chicago Tribune--
Cops say thief in her 70s took red kettle
Donations intended for Salvation Army
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons | Tribune staff reporter
December 19, 2007
A Tinley Park grocery store had a new Salvation Army bucket on Tuesday
to replace the red kettle an elderly woman swiped over the weekend.
A woman believed to be in her early 70s parked her car in front of the
store and snatched the bucket Saturday afternoon, escaping with more
than $100 inside, police said.
Everyone involved was shocked someone would steal from a charity 10
days before Christmas.
"It is a bit unusual for someone that age to commit a crime, much less
to steal a collection for poor people," said Tinley Park police Cmdr.
Phil Valois. "As soon as I think I've seen it all, something new
happens."
The bucket was stolen around 3:30 p.m. Saturday outside Walt's store
in the 16000 block of Harlem Avenue. Police were looking for the
thief, who was wearing a brown fur coat and driving a two-door car.
On Tuesday, detectives interviewed the bell ringer, who had been
greeting people outside the store and saw the incident. A temporary
bell ringer was stationed outside Walt's Tuesday.
Bell ringers are instructed not to jeopardize their safety by trying
to stop a thief, said Josh Polanco, a Salvation Army supervisor for
the south suburbs. He asked people to donate to make up for the loss.
"This is disappointing because the community was sharing with us so we
can help those who are less fortunate, especially during
Christmastime," he said.
The offender had been shopping and took her groceries out to her car
before stopping the vehicle in front of the store to grab the kettle,
said store manager Steve Remus. The store was filled with customers at
the time, which made it difficult to identify the woman from
surveillance video, he said.
Remus was shocked the woman could carry the 50-pound bucket.
"She took the stand -- she took everything," he said.
On Nov. 21, a kettle was taken from a store in Orland Park, but there
was no indication the two incidents were related, police said. A bell
ringer left the bucket unattended at the Walgreens store in the 14600
block of South La Grange Road, and when another bell ringer arrived a
few hours later, the bucket and money were gone, said Orland Park
police Cmdr. Charles Doll. That case has not been solved.
----------
efitzsimmons @tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-kettle_19dec19,1,5353287.story
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