Crime & Safety
After Theft of $10,000 Tuition Cash, Company Steps in to Help
A suspect caught on surveillance video taking the purse at a Dunkin' Donuts earlier this year on Arlington Boulevard has not been found.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- A company has stepped in to make a $10,000 tuition payment for a local family, after hearing about the theft of a purse containing their hard-earned money from a local donut shop in January.
Maria Candida Esteves, 51, had saved the cash for her teen daughter's college tuition, by cleaning homes for the past 25 years. They were on their way to Penn State that day and had made a stop at the donut shop, a Sunday family tradition.
Silicon Valley-based Course Hero heard the family's story and has stepped in to provide the family's daughter with a $10,000 scholarship to continue her education, the company said in a news release.
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Video surveillance showed the theft of the purse containing the $10,000 cash at a Dunkin' Donuts shop at 6138 Arlington Blvd., in the Seven Corners area near Leesburg Pike (see map below).
Surveillance video released by Fairfax County Police shows the face of the suspect, a woman. Police also released a photo of a dark-colored SUV they say she was driving that day. The vehicle is believed to be a 2009 to 2011 Mitsubishi Endeavor.
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Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 866-411-TIPS/8477, email atwww.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637 or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.
Watch the surveillance video of the theft, released by police, here:
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