KFC employee steals cash from the Colonel

By Brandi Makuski

A Plover man is being charged after reportedly stealing cash from the safe of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant where he worked.

Nathanieal V. Pringle II, 33, was arrested in the early morning hours of July 10 after a brief foot pursuit.

Plover Det. Mike Tracy said it was a patrol officer who noticed a man, later identified as Pringle, walking across an empty parking lot near Copps Market, 1850 Plover Rd., dressed in black. The officer stopped to investigate.

“It’s a summer night and there’s a subject walking across the parking lot from KFC towards Copps at 2:30 in the morning wearing all black and a hooded sweatshirt—that looks kind of suspicious,” Tracy said.

Pringle initially ignored the officer’s questions, Tracy said, but when the officer activated his squad car’s lights, Pringle ran.

By then an additional officer had arrived at the scene, Tracy said, and Pringle led the two on a brief foot chase behind Copps Market, then into a large swale next to the railroad tracks there.

“He falls into the water of the drainage ditch and in the process loses both his bank bags; they were able to recover both the bank bags and recover all the money that was taken,” Tracy said, but declined to say how much money was taken.

Pringle later admitted to the officers that he’d robbed the store, located across the parking lot at 1770 Plover Rd., Tracy said.

Pringle was an employee and had access to the store after hours, Tracy said, adding the restaurant sustained no damage.

“This was uncovered by an officer who was just doing their regular patrol and came across someone in the middle of the night,” said Plover Police Chief Dan Ault. “So it was a good, diligent patrol.”

Tracy said Pringle is being charged with burglary, theft, and resisting/obstructing an officer.

Pringle is free on a $2,500 signature bond with orders from Judge Robert Shannon to have no contact with Kentucky Fried Chicken. He is scheduled to return to court July 30 at 1:30 p.m.