Thief runs off with $425 in cancer donations

By Brian McNeill

Published: April 17, 2008

Charlottesville police are searching for a middle-aged man who ran off with an envelope filled with cash that had been donated for cancer treatment and research.
The thief stole the cash at around 12:15 a.m. Wednesday from a Relay for Life benefit event at Mellow Mushroom that was organized by University of Virginia students.
According to witnesses, the robber entered the Corner pizza restaurant and asked the UVa students sitting at the fundraiser table what they were doing.
The students replied that they were selling plastic cups, which Mellow Mushroom would then fill with beer at discounted prices. All the money raised, they told him, would go to cancer treatment and research.
The man then muttered something inaudible. When one of the students leaned forward to hear what he was saying, the thief shoved her with both hands, snatched an envelope filled with $425 and bolted out the door.
Several UVa students and Mellow Mushroom employees gave chase through a nearby parking garage, but the man managed to escape.
Police described the thief as roughly 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. He was wearing a blue pullover sweatshirt, a white baseball cap and “old” sneakers. Police have not yet made any arrests.
“It shook my faith in mankind a little,” said Kathy Feeney, a third-year UVa student and president of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life at UVa. “I can’t say I’m angry, but I am disheartened.”
At the time of the theft, the UVa students were about halfway through the fundraiser, which was going to benefit the Relay for Life event scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at UVa’s Memorial Gymnasium. After the students called police, they continued selling their plastic cups, raising an additional $100.
“I’m hoping that with the publicity from the robbery, we can replace the stolen money,” Feeney said. “But even more than that, it just makes me upset to think there are individuals out there who would do something like this. That was $425 that could have gone toward research. That was $425 that could have helped someone in treatment. Now that money is sitting in the back pocket of someone in Charlottesville.”
Ryan Weigand, who graduated in December and served as the UVa football team’s punter, was among five people who chased the culprit.
“We ran after him down 14th Street and just about caught up with him at one point,” Weigand said. “But the police dispatcher told us not to follow him into the housing project on 10th Street. That’s where we lost him.”
To help make up for the lost cash, Mellow Mushroom is donating a percentage of its proceeds from Tuesday night to benefit UVa’s Relay for Life event Saturday.
“It’s a great cause,” said Andrew Watson, co-owner of the pizza restaurant. “Maybe the community will chip in too.”
More than 530 volunteers are raising money for UVa’s Relay for Life. So far, they have generated more than $62,000 in donations. The event’s goal is $135,000.
“It’s really sad because these kids are working hard to raise money for a great cause,” said Deirdre Kelly, area manager of the American Cancer Society. “We’re excited about this Saturday. They’re going to keep plugging away. They won’t let something like this get them down.”
Cancer kills an estimated 294,120 men and 271,530 women each year in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Cancer is the nation’s second-leading cause of death.
Charlottesville spokesman Ric Barrick said police are investigating the heist and reviewing security camera tapes in the area. Snatching money from college students raising funds for cancer, Barrick said, is “pretty low.”
“It’s obviously unfortunate,” he said. “Hopefully folks will feel sorry for [the students] and give the money back.”
Anyone wishing to contribute to UVa’s Relay for Life can go to http://www.events.can
cer.org/rfluva.