Alleged Thief’s Cash Flow Suits Some Bystanders Fine

The old adage holds that there is no honor among thieves.

It seems that they may not be unfamiliar with charity, however.

That much became apparent Thursday, when a 13-year-old boy who had allegedly burglarized an Inglewood apartment began flinging $100 bills into the air, shouting, “Here, everybody!”

Outside the apartment complex, about 20 people swarmed around the youth as he tossed bundles of cash skyward. Swaggering down neighborhood streets, he handed out thousands of dollars to strangers, police say. Some reportedly returned it to the burglary victim. Others ran off to spend it.

The boy handed $2,000 to two joggers, saying he had found it in his uncle’s beeper shop. The two women did not believe him and gave the money to police. They later helped detectives identify the suspect, Sgt. John Knapp said.

By the time police caught up to him, the would-be Robin Hood had given away a substantial portion of the $28,000 in cash he and two accomplices allegedly stole. An Inglewood woman who had been saving up to buy a house had left the money in a coat pocket in her home. She planned to use the cash as a down payment, but now may never have the chance.

Police arrested the boy and two suspected accomplices, also juveniles, on suspicion of burglary and grand theft, and released them to their parents.