An 11-year-old in Ramona, California, has learned a hard lesson about running a roadside business. His family says his lemonade stand was stolen over the weekend, and it was all caught on camera.
The incident happened on Sunday evening, according to his mother Kery Rader, just eight days after her son Liam’s 11th birthday
“That’s wrong. You know it’s not yours. Its not free. It belongs to somebody,” Rader said.
Security video from a nearby business captured the sour moment when a silver pickup truck drives past the lemonade stand and then turns around and pulls up alongside Liam's stand.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“About halfway through the video, you can see he picks the sign up, and he reads it,“ Rader said.
“In really big letters, it said 'Lemonade.' Below it, said, 'Small $1, large is $3. Saving for a dirt bike. Anything helps. Thank you' with a smiley face at the end," Liam said.
The man tosses the sign, takes a quick look around, then loads the lemonade stand in the back of his truck and drives off.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
“Why would this happen? Why would he do that? Take from a kid that is just trying to sell lemonade,“ Liam said.
The lemonade stand disappeared down the road in the bed of the pickup. Liam waved, but it was no use. In the time it took to run home and get more cups, about two minutes, his business was gone.
In a heartbreaking scene, the security footage from Diamond D Feed and Supply also captured Liam leaning his head against the utility pole, expressing his profound sadness.
“Ultimately, I hope that he doesn’t use this experience to think all people are like that and there’s not good people in this world,” Rader said.
Liam had paid $100 for the table and chairs from his earnings. He has been selling lemonade at the corner of D and Fifth Street for about a year and a half. Everybody who lives in the neighborhood knows who he is. But no one seems to know who stole his stand.
“Someone who is rude and selfish and has no feelings for other people and only cares about himself,“ Liam said.
The sadness of Liam’s misfortune spread through the neighborhood. It was met with support he wasn’t expecting. A fellow business owner sent him $100 and a card that read: “Keep smiling. Don’t let this that happened let you down."
The security video was turned over to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. So far, there have been no arrests or leads.
