Thief grabs money from Girl Scouts and runs

TAYLORSVILLE — Police are looking for a thief who stole money from a group of Girl Scouts selling cookies outside of a local discount store. Investigators said the girls of Troop 2532 were in the parking lot of the Walmart located at 5469 S. Redwood Road when a man and woman drove by the stand they were operating.

The couple’s car later pulled up to the stand, stopped, and the man got out and approached the group of girls who were selling cookies.

“(He) acted as if he was going to buy some cookies, then saw the cash box, reached across the table, grabbed the cash box and took off running,” said Lieutenant Justin Hoyal with the Unified Police Department. The man jumped back into the car and the couple drove off onto Redwood Road, he said.

Hoyal said witnesses described the vehicle as an older model silver 4-door sedan driven by a woman with a thin build. The man was described as a white male in his 20’s, about 5-foot-9,  weighing approximately 150 pounds with a thin build, wearing a white T-shirt. He also had a sleeve of tattoos covering his left arm, Hoyal said.

“This was a very sad crime,” Hoyal said. “These young girls worked very hard to raise money for a great organization and for somebody to come up and steal that money is very sad.”

He said the crime took place despite the presence of adult leaders nearby, but the man still approached and “saw an opportunity” to grab the money and run. No one was hurt in the encounter.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Unified Police at 801-743-7000.

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