---
title: "Real-Life Hamburglar Caught Stealing Drink, Cash, Happy Meal Toys via McDonald’s Drive-Thru Window"
description: "Grimace and Birdie were not available for comment."
date: "2017-11-21"
modified: "2017-11-21"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/16274/real-life-hamburglar-caught-stealing-drink-cash-happy-meal-toys-via-mcdonalds-drive-thru-window"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Burglary"
  - "Crime"
  - "drive-thru"
  - "Maryland"
  - "Mcdonald's"
---

# Real-Life Hamburglar Caught Stealing Drink, Cash, Happy Meal Toys via McDonald’s Drive-Thru Window

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/11/img_2804.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

There’s a reason the real Hamburglar wears a mask. A woman in suburban Maryland has been arrested after she was caught on camera climbing through an unlocked [drive-thru window](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/5747/watch-this-driver-stop-for-in-n-out-drive-thru-while-being-chased-by-the-cops>) and stealing cash, Happy Meal toys, and a drink from a local McDonald’s in the middle of the night, [*WBAL* reports.](<https://www.wbal.com/article/277098/3/howard-co-police-catch-alleged-columbia-hamburglar>)

According to Howard County Police, 27-year-old Jessica Marie Cross pulled up to a McDonald’s location in Columbia, at around 1 a.m. back on November 5th and attempted to place an order via [the drive-thru lane.](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/7629/2-arrested-for-going-through-mcdonalds-drive-thru-on-atv-towed-couch>) When she realized the restaurant was closed, she drove her Hyundai Sonata around to the unlocked service window, popped it open, and began her hamburglarizing career by reaching in and pouring herself a nice cold fountain beverage.

https://youtube.com/embed/KVAve2Cv-ss

Cross then managed to clamber through through the window before wandering off camera and spending the next half hour ransacking the restaurant. [*WBAL* reports](<https://www.wbal.com/article/277098/3/howard-co-police-catch-alleged-columbia-hamburglar>) she took an employee’s purse, $1,400 in cash from the registers, and as the video shows, a big box of Happy Meal toys for good measure. And apparently this Hamburglar has been watching *Law & Order*, because police say Cross also attempted to wash the cash drawers and wipe down her fingerprints.

The theft was reported by employees arriving for work later that morning, but it took weeks for Ronald McDonald Howard County Police to track her down. Several tipsters identified her when officials released the surveillance video last week, but Cross reportedly turned herself in on Thursday. She’s been charged with burglary and theft.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)