Girl Scout gets into tug-of-war with alleged cookie cash thief

The Girl Scouts’ motto is “be prepared,” but maybe it should be “be prepared to arm wrestle.”

One 10-year-old did her best to wrest away a box of Girl Scout cookie cash from a robber who ended up making off with her troop’s profits in San Jose.

Sunday afternoon, Sophia Contos noticed a man eyeballing boxes of cookies on the table in front of a Safeway grocery store and the cash box next to it. So the girl keenly watched, she told NBC Bay Area.

She kept her hand on the box, but “suddenly he goes for it,” Contos said. “I jerk it away, but he’s too strong, so he gets it.”

Police identified the robber as Cody Gintz, 23. He allegedly ran off with the box -- which was holding about $600 -- and tossed it into a creek nearby before heading back to the parking lot to get in his car, the station reported.

But Sophia’s mom and other outraged shoppers and witnesses spotted Gintz and called police. Sophia’s mother reported his license plate number and officers stopped his car nearby.

Police told the L.A. Times that Gintz was booked on suspicion of robbery and was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. As for the Girl Scouts and their cookies – officers reportedly bought the remaining $240 worth of goodies and tossed in an extra $60 in cash. The stolen money was ultimately recovered.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.