Police Arrest Couple in Donation Thefts Caught on Tape

A Pennsville couple was arrested and charged Friday for allegedly stealing donation cans from three stores on Kings Highway on Saint Patrick's Day, a heist captured on a YouTube video.

Angeline Marie Johnson, 47, and Patrick Novak, 56, both of at 1 Victory Ave., Lot 26, Pennsville were charged after being picked up in Haddonfield Friday.

The pair was allegedly caught on a security camera stealing a donation cans last week at the Jamaican Me Crazy gift shop here on Kings Highway East. An email from the Haddonfield Information Center to local businesses Friday said the suspects were arrested earlier in front of Tre Famiglia restaurant at 403 N. Haddon Ave. Officials said the YouTube video helped identify the victims.

Police did not immediately say where the couple was caught. The pair is also suspected of stealing donation cans in two neighboring businesses the same day.

The heists occurred on March 17.  The suspects were described as a 6-foot-1 white male, early 50s with balding hair and a black jacket and a white woman, with dark shoulder-length hair, heavy-set, wearing a dark sweatshirt.  The man swiped the can at Jamaican Me Crazy after the woman distracted store owner Gary Reses, according to police.

The theft was caught on a security camera.  But the store owners didn’t realize the can was missing until members from the Furrever Friends animal rescue group came to collect the donations on March 18.

“They came in and said their other two cans were stolen from Harrison’s and the Bistro," said Nina Reses, Gary's wife. "Then I went to hand them our can and and realized it was gone. There’s also video of them taking the can at the Bistro.”

The Reses needed help from a tech-savvy member of the animal-rescue group to retrieve their security video. Furrever Friends then posted the security video on  YouTube and alerted local television stations earlier this week, Nina Reses said.

On Thursday morning, she was taping a new donation can to the counter. She said they didn’t want to be surprised again by someone trying to take it.

“I can't believe people would steal money for homeless animals,” she said.  “I hope someone can identify these people.”

They did, thanks to the YouTube video.

For the Reses, animal rescue is more than just a charitable donation. They also take in cats waiting to be adopted after rescue. Their latest temporary border is Lida, a female feline.