DETROIT (WWJ) – A man caught on camera stealing a tip jar from a Detroit bar and restaurant has been caught.
Detroit police officials say 58-year-old Sampson White is facing a felony charge of larceny in a building for allegedly stealing about $300 from a tip jar inside The Congregation, a former church-turned-bar in the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood.
The alleged theft happened around 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 – The Congregation's two-year anniversary of being in business.
Detroit police released video of White inside the building. He's seen walking in and chatting with an employee at the counter. As soon as that employee turned away, Sampson snatched the tip jar and bolted for the door.
Authorities said Thursday White is being charged as a habitual offender, but did not disclose details about his previous crimes.
The Congregation is located inside of a building that was originally built in 1924 for the congregation of St. Luke's Evangelical Church, which had burnt down several years earlier, according to the bar's website. It opened as a bar and restaurant in early 2020, just before the start of the pandemic.
