An elderly World War II veteran helped police nab the suspect who stole a donation jar in Massachusetts.
Ronald D’Arcangelo was doing what he always does this time of year, collecting money for fellow veterans outside the Swampscott Stop and Shop for an annual fundraiser. But this time things turned ugly.
"This guy comes along and I happened to step 2, 3 feet away from it. I wasn’t far from that bucket, I always had one eye on it, but this guy must have been casing it," he said.
In a split second, a thief coming out of the grocery store had swiped this bucket full of cash.
The suspect, later identified by police as 23-year-old Michael Rogers, was on the run through the parking lot of the Swampscott Mall. But that didn’t stop the 89-year-old WWII vet from springing into action.
"So I started running after him and I can run pretty fast, but he probably had 30 yards on me," D'Arcangelo said.
According to investigators, a Swampscott policeman saw the suspect stuffing money down his pants as he ran through the lot, and tackled him behind a nearby bank.
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"And the cops were there so fast, the Swampscott Police - they beat me to the guy, that’s how fast they were," D'Arcangelo said.
When the suspect was caught, he told Mr. D’Arcangelo, "'I’m sorry, sir you didn’t deserve that. I’m an idiot,' and then turned to the officer and said 'the old guy doesn’t deserve to be robbed by me.'"
D'Arcangelo said he was angry at first, but then felt sorry for him.
Rogers was arraigned Thursday on a larceny charge. All of the cash, $276, was returned to the local VFW Post.
