Burglars break into Scotts Valley Little League snack shack

When thieves burglarized a local little league snack shack, they made off with pounds of candy and boxes of chips. But what was hidden inside one of those boxes turned out to be much more – $500 in cash to be exact.

That may not seem like much to some people, but to the kids with the Scotts Valley Little League, that’s months of fundraising efforts down the drain.

“Is this a joke? Who would steal from us? We raise this money to for this. Who would do this?” said Jane Arcangeli with the Scotts Valley Little League Organization.

Police believe it was young kids that broke into the snack shack last Tuesday, and that money wasn’t what these burglars were after. Officers said whoever did this was looking for food — not the cash that was hidden in the most unlikely place.

“It was in the bottom of the chip box, and when they took the chips – they hit jackpot,” said Arcangeli.

The most expensive item that the group has to replace isn’t something the thieves took, it’s the way they got in. Arcangeli said they broke in through the snack bar food window.

“It’s so old that we can’t get it fixed. It has to completely be replaced, and that’s of course $2,500 that we didn’t budget for,” said Arcangeli.

This organization is a 100 percent volunteer effort, with the kids at the heart of their fundraising.

“We use that money to stack our snack shop, we buy awnings, and fix things that are broken,” said Arcangeli.

But the burglary hasn’t broken this team’s spirit.

“We just have to wait till our next fundraiser, and hope we make enough to replenish everything,” said Arcangeli.

Scotts Valley police said they’re still investigating, but so far no arrests have been made. Despite this setback, team leaders said these kids will be ready when the season starts back up again in March.