Police say Dum Dums led to arrest of alleged sweet tooth bandit

James Russell of Sidney was caught with some sweet evidence after allegedly stealing candy from the Legion Park concession stand.

Sergeant Joe Rieken of Sidney Police was called to Legion Park on the morning of July 16 after a burglary was reported at the concession stand, the second in as many months. Bonita Dickinson told police that someone apparently climbed in the window and took candy and soda, according to the arrest affidavit.

Rieken deduced from evidence found at the scene that the burglars pried open metal plates around the concession window to squeeze inside. Dickinson provided a list of stolen candy to police. The value of the items taken added up to around $100.

Later that morning, Rieken and Lieutenant Keith Andrew arrived at the residence of James Russell, who had been charged with burglary of the same concession stand in June. Russell was out on bond in connection with his previous charge.

"He was a suspect because of his previous involvement," said Police Chief Joseph Aikens.

When officers arrived at Russell's residence on 11th St., they found a Dum Dums sucker lying on the deck outside the apartment. It was later confirmed that most of the candy taken from the concession stands were Dum-Dums suckers.

"I secured this Dum Dum as evidence," Rieken said in the report.

When police knocked on Russell's door, an unnamed 15-year-old male answered and instructed police that Russell had told him not to let anyone inside, according to police records. Russell was not present at the apartment because he was reportedly in a meeting with his attorney about his previous arrest and charge in conjunction with the June burglary.

The juvenile claimed that he was at Russell's apartment for a little while on the night of July 15, when the alleged burglary occurred. According to the arrest report, the boy claimed that he left the apartment for several hours and returned in the early morning of July 16.

At this point, the juvenile said that he saw quite a bit of candy and soda in the apartment that hadn't been present earlier in the night. The boy then relayed to police that Russell admitted to him that he'd stolen the candy from the concession stand, the report said. The juvenile allegedly admitted to eating a Twizzler and drinking a Pepsi from the candy stash after learning that they were stolen. He reportedly claimed that he didn't have any involvement in the actual burglary and that he didn't know about any possible accomplices.

While waiting for his parents, the juvenile asked to go back inside to get his shoe. During the time the door was open, police observed what appeared to be Mountain Dew bottles on the floor near the boy's shoes.

The juvenile admitted that he'd been told the soda was stolen from the concession stand. The juvenile then went home with a parent. Russell was then located and transported to the police department, where he reportedly asked for a lawyer and refused to be interviewed.

Based on the interview with the juvenile and other evidence, Russell was placed under arrest for burglary. After a search warrant was obtained, police located several snack items consistent with the list of candy and pop taken from the concession stand inside Russell's residence.