Wendy’s Burglar Takes Just $1, Lands In Jail

June 4, 2012

An 18-year that burglarized a Wendy’s restaurant ended up taking just $1 from a charity collection before ending up behind bars.

Just after 2:00 a.m. Monday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary at the Wendy’s restaurant at 2200 South Highway 29 in reference to a burglary. Witnesses reported seeing a white male running from the side of the building toward Kingsfield Road. Deputies surrounded the area, and a K-9 led them a residence in the 1600 block of Kingsfield Road.

As deputies approached the residence, a white male identified as Tyler James Speer, walked outside and told deputies that he was the person they wanted. Witnesses later positively identified Speer.

Speer spontaneously told deputies that the dollar bill in his pocket was from Wendy’s and he would give it back to them.

Investigators determined that Speer used the drive-thru window to enter the business and removed $1 from a charity collection box for the Dave Thomas Foundation. Speer told deputies that he took the dollar bill because he was thirsty.

Speer remained in the Escambia County Jail Monday afternoon with bond set at $1,250.

Comments

18 Responses to “Wendy’s Burglar Takes Just $1, Lands In Jail”

  1. Carol Milstid on June 10th, 2012 3:19 pm

    wow david…a little on the judgemental side huh? I’m saying my THIRTEEN year old daughter who was living at home at the time and her 2 friends who were staying the night snuck out and took my car for a joyride…Not even close to a criminal act in my mind…Tyler DID do worse..breaking into a public business is ALOT worse, but all we’re saying is he’s not a criminal, just did a dumb thing…for which he SHOULD be punished….and I’m sure he will….but I don’t think he deserves the death penalty folks….jeez…

    Carol for a little compassion goes a long way….

  2. David Huie Green on June 7th, 2012 9:26 pm

    so you’re saying she lied?

    or you’re saying taking something without permission which belongs to somene else isn’t really stealing?

    David for unconditional love of family.
    even liars and thieves

  3. Carol Milstid on June 7th, 2012 9:05 am

    mic…stephanie may have exaggerated a little..she didn’t “steal” the car…it was kids being stupid and taking it for a joy ride…we’ve all done things we regret when we were teens….yes Tyler took it a little too far, but I can just see him doing something like this on a dare…He was almost killed a couple of years ago on that very same stretch of road when he was hit by a car (you may recall the news story)…was in the ICU with a brain injury and it was a miracle he survived…since the accident, he doesn’t always make the best choices, but he IS a good kid…
    The End!

  4. Mic Hall on June 6th, 2012 10:26 pm

    Sorry to blow your theory, Stephanie, but most of us have NOT stolen cars or robbed a fast food restaurant even when we were teens. Stupid describes those people who do. The fact that you think this is normal teen activity shows a problem but its not a problem with the rest of us.

    The evidence is clear he was NOT BEING “sweet and giving” when he robbed the restaurant. He was being the opposite. Giving hugs does not preclude being stupid or a possible danger to himself or others.

  5. Stephanie Spencer on June 6th, 2012 3:21 pm

    This is my cousin. He is a very good kid who has just made a bad decision. I stole my Mom’s car and wrecked it when I was 15. This stuff happens when you’re a teen. Certainly anyone who will judge him is not perfect and was a teen once. We love Tyler very much and he is always sweet and giving everyone he sees a hug even though we do not see him very often. This is not a case of him “hitting rock bottom” or “endangering people” in the future. Nor is he going to show up at your house. Because despite these comments he is NOT stupid, but he did make a mistake. As we ALL have.

  6. David Huie Green on June 5th, 2012 12:24 pm

    REGARDING:
    “let he who is without sin cast the first stone . keep the faith Tyler. ”

    Nobody’s stoning him although his actions imply he may have done so to himself.

    And if the faith you want to keep is one which encourages stealing from a foundation dedicated to finding adoptive homes for orphans, yes, you can keep it. No decent person would want it. The Christian faith condemns those who would harm them.

    David for decent people
    and decent chances for orphans

  7. Judy Norrie on June 5th, 2012 9:08 am

    Ronnie hit the nail on the head, the brain isn’t fully developed until 25. But unfortunately you put a serious brain injury ,which Tyler had on top of this you get a child that makes a poor decision. What he did was stupid but he is a loving, caring young man. Don’t judge until you know all the circumstances. We are praying for Tyler because he does not belong in prison. He does need to be punished but hopefully not prison!

  8. Chris & Shawn's Mom on June 5th, 2012 5:51 am

    let he who is without sin cast the first stone . keep the faith Tyler.

  9. Anonymous on June 5th, 2012 3:54 am

    Tyler is stupid for what he did, but that isn’t the type of person he is. I have known him for a pretty long time & never thought he would do something so crazy but you know what…people make mistakes. Tyler is one of the sweetest, funniest people I know & none of you need to judge him for what he did because I’m sure plenty of you have done a lot worse. I’m not defending him saying that he shouldn’t be punished because he even feels that he should be. But people who love him weren’t going to let him sit in a place that they know he doesn’t belong.

  10. Harley on June 4th, 2012 10:52 pm

    Let me help this kid out and give him some advice for future references….. Drink machines never want to take a dollar bill anyway, so your best bet would be loose change, which you could have easily found in the parking lot and you wouldn’t have went to jail for that. But hopefully now you will really learn the value of a dollar!

  11. joe salgado on June 4th, 2012 8:15 pm

    what would big dave had done?

  12. Mic Hall on June 4th, 2012 6:14 pm

    This is a ‘nip it in the bud’ event if I ever saw one.

    If this guy does not get some sort of real punishment it is very likely to move to more aggressive tactics that could endanger anyone that gets in his way.

    As they say you can’t fix stupid but if stupid shows up and my house I hope the family has his funeral arrangements already setup because they will need them.

  13. You..... on June 4th, 2012 3:20 pm

    You Can’t Fix Stupid….but I do agree with Michelle but instead of 1 week make it 100 hours….an hour for each penny he stole….$1 = 100 pennies!!

  14. welder on June 4th, 2012 2:59 pm

    So why didnt he just fix him something to drink instead of thating from charity ….
    learn a trade theres jobs out there, …

  15. Michelle on June 4th, 2012 2:52 pm

    Instead of wasting court time and taxpayers money to find a way to lock him up. Give communitiy service (since he did break-in and stole $1) of 1 week to do odd jobs in and around Wendy’s, i.e. washing cooking equipment, moping floors wiping tables, cutting the grass, trash pick-up on Wendy’s properties. And give him the project of fund raising and awareness for Dave’s fund.
    It juust sounds like a high school end of year high jinxs and/or dare. Thus maybe why he took only a dollar.
    Break-ins and robberies are of course no laughing matter. But its just seems clear that it was ment to be a prank of some sort.
    Since he gave himself us, I’m sure the police finding pretty much scared the life and of him. And made him see the errors of his youth.
    Don’t waste any time or money over this, but he does need to make amends for his mistake. Lesson learned I hope Tyler.
    .

  16. Ronnie the ol'e QB on June 4th, 2012 1:47 pm

    They say the brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Here is living proof that statement has to be true.This dude’s still got 7 years to go. However…book’em Dano.

  17. JimD on June 4th, 2012 1:35 pm

    Seriously…! Again, stupid is a stupid does.

  18. Doug on June 4th, 2012 1:02 pm

    We’ve hit rock bottom… come on man!