LONGMONT- Call it the "Dairy Queen Caper" - two people walked into the ice cream shop in Longmont and walked out with stolen cash. It was all caught on surveillance video. Police said they eventually caught up with the thieves, but what happened next, surprised everyone at the shop.
Longmont police said the two suspects stole a tip jar and money collected as a part of a fundraiser for a Children's Hospital.
On a blazing hot summer day, it's natural for Angela Sargent and her staff to stay pretty busy at their Dairy Queen on Main Street in Longmont. That's the way it was last Monday when Sargent noticed something was amiss.
"I walked up and noticed all the tip money in the jar was gone and our bag that holds the [Children's Miracle Network] tree money was gone," Sargent said.
She went to look at the shop's surveillance video and could not believe what she saw.
"He went in here, reached his arm all the way in here and grabbed our Miracle balloon money and then with his other arm, he grabbed all our tip money and just made a run for it," Sargent said.
Longmont Police said 22-year-old Nicholas Frederick walked in with a 17-year-old friend and left with a grand total of $14. Most of that money was donated for the Children's Miracle Network.
"I was pretty angry. I was ready to chase them down the street," Sargent said. "I just don't understand people at all. I don't understand why anyone would take from a charity."
They called Longmont police and within 30 minutes, officer Mike Kimbley found the suspects. They had already spent the money they had taken.
"He'd be here today if he wasn't such a quiet, shy guy," Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said of his colleague, Officer Kimbley. "But he's a good officer. He works hard, and he's got a soft spot in his heart for kids."
Officer Kimbley returned to the Dairy Queen and when he found out most of the money stolen had been for charity, he donated $20, more than replacing what had been taken.
"I was just amazed," Sargent said. "He was such a nice guy anyway and to have him do such a wonderful thing—that's money out of his own pocket."
Longmont police said as of Monday, Nicholas Frederick was still in jail on a $2,500 bond, facing charges of theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. That minor was issued a summons.
As for the folks at the Longmont Dairy Queen, they said they are now placing all of the Miracle Network donations they get in the back of the shop for safekeeping.
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