DOWAGIAC, Mich. — Dowagiac Police say a 30-year-old Indiana man has been arrested inthe December theft of a Toys-For-Tots donations box.
Michael Ted Doane, of La Porte, Ind., is charged with larceny in a building, according to a release. He was arrested Jan. 6 in Indiana and extradited to Michigan.
A Toys-For-Tots donation box was stolen Dec. 11 from the Shell gas station, 102 N. Front Street in Dowagiac.
Gas station manager Tina Behnke told FOX 17 in December that surveillance video shows that around 11 p.m. that night a man wearing a black athletic coat walked through their doors and first checked to see if the box was movable.
He then walked away for a few minutes, she said, returning with lottery bet slips and began filling them out.
“Customers were still very busy, keeping the cashier busy,” said Behnke. “After a while he just stood up and slid that box underneath his coat, turned in a circle and walked right out the front door.”
Behnke was shocked. So were her employees. They couldn’t believe someone would do this to children, especially ones in need.
“It’s like, really,” said Behnke. “For what? Maybe in there, $40 or $50, just to steal from kids at Christmas.”
