Indian Shores - A St. Petersburg teenager has been arrested and charged with felony burglary after police say he broke into donation boxes and stole $190 from the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary.
Police say tips from a social media post by the staff of the facility led them to 19-year-old Steven Lee Rege.
Rege's father gave the stolen money back to the nonprofit.
The backstory:
The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, located on Gulf Boulevard in Indian Shores, was frustrated after someone stole money and destroyed their donation boxes in the early morning hours last weekend.
The donations were to help the nonprofit continue its recovery efforts from last year’s hurricanes.
They took to social media and posted surveillance photos of the suspect in the act.
Seaside Seabird Sanctuary
Why you should care:
The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary cares for approximately 3,500 injured birds every year and receives no government funding of any kind.
It relies on donations from people like you to continue to rescue, rehabilitate and release sick and injured wild birds.
If you would like to contribute to this cause, click here
What's next:
Steven Lee Rege remains in the Pinellas County Jail under $26,000 bond.
He is due to appear in court next week.
The Source: Information from this story was taken from arrest affidavits supplied by the Indian Shores Police Department, Pinellas County Court Records, the Pinellas County Jail and the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary website.