CHESAPEAKE — The charge against a man accused of stealing $40 from two children running a lemonade stand in front of their family’s home last month has been upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony, police said.
Last week, 19-year-old Esteban Santillan was issued a summons for petty theft, a crime punishable by up to a year in prison.
On Tuesday, Chesapeake police announced that the charge had been upgraded to stealing $5.00 or more of U.S. currency from an individual. The crime is similar to grand larceny and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. In such cases, the property must be in the direct control or proximity of the victim, but is taken without violence or with minimal force.
A man stole $40 from a lemonade stand in Chesapeake. What happened next was overwhelming, the family said.
The theft occurred on Aug. 14 on Bells Mill Road. Rebecca Caldwell, 10, and her brother, Josh Caldwell, 8, were selling lemonade at the end of their driveway when a man pulled up in a car, approached them and then fled with a jar containing $40 that was on the table in front of them. The incident was captured on the family’s security cameras.
After news of the theft spread, hundreds of people offered their support by buying lemonade from the siblings or making donations. As of last week, they had raised more than $6,700.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
