Josh Caldwell,8, and his sister Rebecca Caldwell,10 with their lemonade stand Thursday,August 29,2024 in Chesapeake. They were running their stand recently when a man stole approximately $40 from them. Police have arrested the man. (Bill Tiernan / For The Virginian-Pilot)

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The charge against a man accused of stealing $40 from two children operating a lemonade stand outside their family’s home last month was upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony, according to police.

Last week, Esteban Santillan, 19, was issued a summons charging him with petty larceny, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

On Tuesday, Chesapeake police announced the charge had been upgraded to stealing U.S. currency valued at $5.00 or more from a person. The crime is similar to grand larceny and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. In such cases, the property must be under the immediate control or proximity to the victim, but is taken without violence or with minimal force.

The theft occurred Aug. 14 on Bells Mill Road. Rebecca Caldwell, 10, and her brother, Josh Caldwell, 8, were selling lemonade at the end of their driveway when a man pulled up in a car, approached them, then took off with a jar containing $40 that was on the table in front of them. The incident was captured by the family’s home security cameras.

After word of the theft spread, hundreds of people offered their support by buying lemonade from the siblings, or making a donation to them. As of last week, they’d collected more than $6,700.

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