Thief robs Girl Scout selling cookies in Center City

Now this was a real crumb bum.

Police are looking for a man who stole money from the apron of a 9-year-old Girl Scout who was selling cookies in front of her Center City home Saturday.

The scout's mother, Jennifer Brinkmeier, said the thief stopped by the table of her daughter Anastasia Stamoulis twice before he robbed the girl. The man bought a box of cookies on his first visit, Brinkmeier said.

Anastasia set up her table of Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, Thanks-A-Lots, and other cookies in front of her home on the 400 block of South 16th Street around 2 p.m.

"She was wearing a Girl Scout cookie apron with a pocket that was exactly the right size for her money envelope," Brinkmeier said.

Anastasia sold about 70 boxes of cookies at $4 each. Brinkmeier said she ran the larger bills into the house throughout the day for safekeeping.

When the thief came back,  he said his girlfriend wanted cookies that were "healthy" or "vegan," Brinkmeier recalled, so she gave him a piece of paper that listed the ingredients for each cookie variety.

Shortly thereafter, the man handed the paper back to Anastasia. As she put her hands out to take it, the thief reached into her apron, stole between $50 and $100, and ran off, Brinkmeier said.

A witness on the corner, a family in a minivan, and a driver in a tow truck all tried to catch the thief, Brinkmeier said.

"You're going to prey on a little girl, really? Who does that?" she said. "And the money isn't even hers, it's for the Girl Scout troop."

Brinkmeier said her daughter had been one tough cookie about the whole ordeal.

"She obviously thinks it's wrong that it happened, but she is a trouper," Brinkmeier said.