Deputies: Arrest made in lemonade stand stickup

MONROE, N.C.—North Carolina authorities arrested a juvenile Wednesday they say robbed a 9-yearold lemonade vendor of $17 at gunpoint, a stickup that prompted an outpouring of sympathy and donations for the young entrepreneur.

Tony Underwood, a spokesman for the Union County Sheriff’s Office, said detectives had obtained security camera footage of a person who matched the suspect’s description in an area near where the holdup occurred. Underwood said a juvenile, identified as a male in the agency’s news release, was arrested without incident.

The suspect’s identity was being withheld under North Carolina law. Detectives working with the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice obtained petitions charging the juvenile with robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia, authorities said.

The young vendor, whose first name is Mark, told sheriff’s deputies he was held up at gunpoint Saturday while selling lemonade at a traffic circle not far from the entrance to his community in Monroe, about 30 miles southeast of Charlotte. Investigators subsequently said they were seeking a male suspect.

Home-improvement chain Lowe’s subsequently gave the boy a new, $1,100 riding mower on Monday after spokeswoman Sarah Lively said officials at the company’s headquarters near Charlotte saw news reports about the robbery.