Man steals money from children’s lemonade stand, video shows

Shocking footage shows a heartless thief stealing a piggy bank containing $40 from a children's lemonade stand in Virginia.

According to surveillance footage from the home, 10-year-old Rebecca Caldwell and her younger brother Josh were selling lemonade outside their Chesapeake home last week when a silver Toyota sedan pulled up.

A tattooed man in his thirties gets out of the car and Rebecca begins pouring him an ice-cold glass of the drink she thought would be her next customer.

But instead, the crook grabbed the jar of hard-earned money and made off, as the video shows.

“We already had $40. It seemed pretty good, and then the guy came,” Rebecca told WAVY. “He was really nice. He just said something like, 'Nice, you all are doing a lemonade stand.' And then he came pretty close, but I had my back to him, so I didn't really notice.”

Rebecca and her younger brother Josh ran inside and told their mother they had been robbed. Their mother called the Chesapeake Police Department.

“I just wanted to find out who would do something like this, because out here it's just innocent kids running lemonade stands,” said Annetta Caldwell, Rebecca and Josh's mother.

The siblings have hosted several lemonade and bake sales in their front yard in the past and thought the day would be a perfect opportunity to earn some money for their older sister, who is saving up for a dirt bike.

“It was a hot summer day and I thought it would be nice if people drank lemonade,” Rebecca said.

The children's father, Ryan Caldwell, said the worst part was not the loss of money, but that their fun was spoiled.

“I don't think it's really about the money. They just enjoy being out here and meeting people,” he told the outlet.

“We don't want to take that away from them, you know – we want the fun, the innocence to be preserved. That's probably the worst thing – the stolen innocence,” he said.

Annetta Caldwell said part of her wanted the chance to talk to the thief. The family has filed a police report and has been in regular contact with authorities since the incident.

“They've talked to us a lot,” Ryan Caldwell said. “They've communicated well and so… they're very interested in helping and solving the problem.”

Rebecca, on the other hand, places the emphasis on forgiveness.

“We want him to become a Christian and have a good life, but we would say he should not go to prison, but do more community work and things like that,” she said.

The support from the Caldwells' community has been heartwarming, the parents said.

Someone from Ryan's workplace replaced the $40 and viewers told WAVY they plan to send checks to the children.

“Good things can always come out of bad situations,” said Anneeta.

Rebecca and Josh plan to set up another lemonade stand this Saturday.