Donation jar stolen from Peoria gas station - KMSP-TV

It's a pretty shocking crime. Peoria Police have released a photo of a man who essentially stole from sick children.

The theft took place inside a valley gas station. It wasn't a typical hold up. The suspect didn't demand money from the register. He took it off the counter.

Last Friday the suspect walked up to the counter at a Peoria Valero gas station and stole a donation jar.

"He walks up to the counter, does some kind of transaction with the cashier then he pretends to kind of walk away," says Amanda Jacinto, public safety information officer for the city of Peoria.

Jacinto says the suspect returned to the counter after the cashier turned around, and grabbed a container of money that was being collected for the Children's Miracle Network.

"Throughout our campaign which is about a thousand stores in the United States the typical total is around $2 million per year," says Valero spokesperson Bill Day.

Day says he didn't know how much was taken, but whatever amount that was donated was meant to help valley kids.

"Hopefully the person that stole it didn't realize what he or she was doing and maybe when they realize what they have done they will return the money."

An on-duty Peoria police officer noticed a wanted poster when he stopped by the store Monday morning, and encouraged the manager to file a report and ask the public to help put this guy behind bars.

"We want people to report crimes like this so that we can investigate it. Obviously the community cares about things like this, that's why they donate their money towards these causes so to have something taken like this is definitely something we want to be aware of," says Jacinto.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Peoria Police department.

TIPLINE:

By text: Type PPD, then your message, and send to 274-637 (CRI-MES).

By phone: 623-773-7045

E-mail tips: PDTips@peoriaaz.gov

For more information on our new Tipsoft program, which allows for truly anonymous tips, visit www.peoriaaz.gov/police and follow the link to Tipsoft