Students Arrested After Allegedly Stealing $7.5K Ronald McDonald Statue, Completing Drive-Thru Order

Surveillance footage showing the kidnapping.

We all know you’re not supposed to return to the scene of the crime, but another good way to get caught is to spend as much time as you can in front of surveillance cameras while committing an unlawful act. Heck, four students accused of kidnapping a Ronald McDonald statue from an Illinois restaurant stuck around long enough afterward to finish going through the drive-thru and pick up some eats.

Four students from a nearby university were arrested for felony theft after the statue went missing in October, reports The Daily Journal.

“The Hamburglar was not a suspect, as much as everyone thought he was,” said a local police detective who investigated the case.

Obviously sir, as it was an inedible statue that was stolen, and not a hamburger.

In any case, police say the foursome arrived in a car and drove up to the drive-thru to order some food. Three of the suspects allegedly hopped out and ripped Ronald from his spot, hiding him in a bush.

Then they picked up their order of eight cheeseburgers and one ice cream cone and paid for it at the window. Police say three of the guys went back later to pick up the statue, which was recovered in a dorm room after a patrolman identified the suspect’s car on campus.

“People might think they were stealing from a big corporation, but the bottom line it comes out of the franchise owner,” the detective noted. “This is a business owner in our community, and it’s still felony theft.”

4 ONU students arrested for stealing Ronald McDonald [The Daily Journal]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist