Stealing money from children is pretty low. But that’s what one man in New Jersey did when he saw a lemonade stand, left unattended by four boys who had momentarily stepped away, and stole the money jar. Unfortunately for him, a witness spotted the thief who fled on foot and called the police.
Thief was caught by police within an hour
On August 19, 35-year-old Chapel D. Lighty of South Carolina was charged with theft after taking $50 from a kids’ lemonade stand, as reported by Daily Voice and CBS New York.
Security camera footage shows Lighty walking down the street in the area of Boulevard and Raymond Street in Bergen County when he spots a container of money resting at an empty lemonade stand. He then steals the plastic jar and fleeing on foot southward.
Detectives and patrol officers from the Hasbrouck Heights Police, with assistance from Wood-Ridge police, responded to the theft and quickly compiled witness information and surveillance video. It didn’t take too long before Detective John Cambridge found Lighty with the money jar still nearby.
“After about 15, 20 minutes of still continuing to look, I went down to the park,” Cambridge recalled. “And sure enough, he was sitting there on the park bench, same exact clothing on in the video, with the empty bottle where he took the money from at his feet.”
Lighty was arrested without incident and booked at the Bergen County Jail. He has been charged with theft and taking or receiving a credit card without the owner’s consent. Police discovered that Lighty has an active warrant out of Garfield too.
The boys had their proceeds returned and didn’t let the theft get them down. One of the boys’ mothers, Tara Rotelli, said they set up the lemonade stand close to her store later that afternoon.
