Child Arrested for Alleged $1.89 Candy Theft

No one will ever accuse Sun Shine Food Store as soft on crime. 

When Assistant Manager Mayur Pateo allegedly caught a 12-year-old boy with a $1.89 Snickers Peanut Butter candy bar in his pocket, he alerted Dorchester County deputies and had them arrest the child. 

According to the incident report, the child had gone into the store and asked the price of the candy bar. He returned to his shopping, putting the candy bar back but then allegedly picking it back up again. 

When the boy returned to the counter, he paid for two liters of soda and a Reese's cup, according to the report. When the manager asked where the Snicker's bar was, the boy allegedly produced the bar from out of his shirt pocket. According to the report, Pateo detained the child until authorities arrived. 

According to Dorchester County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Maj. John Garrison, the alleged act qualifies as shoplifting because the child attempted to conceal the candy bar. 

After deputies arrived and filled out the necessary forms, the boy was released to his father. 

The assistant manager requested a tresspass notice for the child, and requested to pursue charges, according to the report.