Suspected so-called Tip Jar Bandit arrested after second theft
September 21, 2012
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Police Department
Santa Paula Police arrested the suspected so-called Tip Jar Bandit in late August after a series of crimes that were caught on surveillance tape the second time she hit the same downtown eatery.
And, according to Interim Police Chief Ishmael Cordero, if convicted of the crime it would probably cause the woman to lose her government subsidized housing.
Cordero said an unidentified Main Street area business with counter service had a tip jar for employees and had called police after “Someone went in there, took the jar with almost a full day’s tips and left” with the money. Then, “A week or so later she goes back and does the same thing.”
Cordero said SPPD investigators viewed the surveillance tape from the business and observed the woman taking the tip jar. “Officers recognized the woman” and determined her address to visit her residence. When SPPD officers arrived, “A number of folks were arrested at that location” on numerous charges, said Cordero.
Other than the legal implications of being arrested for theft, Cordero said the unidentified Tip Jar Bandit might be in for further trouble: “She was on HUD,” the federal Department of Housing an Urban Development program that subsidizes rent for low-income households. And, if the woman is convicted, Cordero said those living at the residence “could be terminated from the HUD program.”
