VIDEO: Man stuffs heart transplant donation jar down pants

KTRK logo
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Donation jar stolen from store
Thieves in Hawaii stole a donation jar meant to help a girl waiting on a heart transplant and her family.

PUNA, Hawaii -- Two people were arrested Wednesday in Hawaii, accused of stealing a donation jar meant to help a little girl waiting on a heart transplant.



Hawaii News Now reports Jeffrey Kleinschmidt, 57, and Kristin Johnson, 45, were arrested after surveillance video at a smoke shop in Puna, Hawaii, showed a man reading the jar and then taking it and stuffing it in his pants and then walking out with a woman. The jar reportedly contained about $200.




The money was to help 8-year-old Madisyn Tamaki and her family. Madisyn is in a Seattle hospital awaiting a heart transplant after she was diagnosed with an inflammatory disease that attacks the heart muscle. She's in critical, but stable condition.



The store's manager, Jose Miranda, couldn't believe what he saw.



"To not care about an 8-year-old that's in an induced coma, and needs a heart transplant, to me there's no excuse to do something like that, you know," Miranda said.



Kleinschmidt and Johnson face third-degree theft charges.



Kleinschmidt has 31 prior charges on his record, according to Hawaii News Now.



Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.