A Man's Egg of Shame: 29-Year-Old Surrenders to Police After Stealing Humpty Dumpty Statue from Cape May Mini Golf Course
In a shocking turn of events, Blane C. Dongas, 29, has turned himself in to authorities after allegedly smashing the beloved Humpty Dumpty statue at Cape May's Ocean Putt Golf course in September. The FBI-worthy crime was captured on surveillance footage, which showed Dongas scaling a fence and making off with the miniature masterpiece.
According to police, Dongas' antics were caught on camera as he ripped the fiber-glass egg from its pedestal and walked away with it. The vandalism occurred at around 4 a.m., leaving the mini golf course to pick up the pieces – literally. The once-whole statue was found abandoned at a nearby property, its top hat and one hand broken off.
The Humpty Dumpty heist made headlines nationwide as police scoured for the culprit. But thanks to an anonymous tipper who took a gander at the surveillance video, Dongas' mugshot was all it took to identify him as the perpetrator.
Further investigation revealed that Dongas had been in the vicinity of Ocean Putt Golf on the night of the crime, according to his phone records. He has since turned himself in and is facing charges of criminal mischief and trespassing.
In a bizarre twist, police are still searching for any potential accomplices from the surveillance video – which appears to show a second individual lurking around the scene. Whether or not that mystery man will face charges remains to be seen.
The Ocean Putt Golf course, a family-owned institution since 1964, has been left shaken by the incident. As one might expect, the repair and replacement costs are mounting – an estimated $1,000 for repairs and $2,000 for a new statue.
As for Dongas, he'll be facing court proceedings, with bail set at a relatively low $1,000. For now, it seems this poor egg's fate has been cracked wide open.
In a shocking turn of events, Blane C. Dongas, 29, has turned himself in to authorities after allegedly smashing the beloved Humpty Dumpty statue at Cape May's Ocean Putt Golf course in September. The FBI-worthy crime was captured on surveillance footage, which showed Dongas scaling a fence and making off with the miniature masterpiece.
According to police, Dongas' antics were caught on camera as he ripped the fiber-glass egg from its pedestal and walked away with it. The vandalism occurred at around 4 a.m., leaving the mini golf course to pick up the pieces – literally. The once-whole statue was found abandoned at a nearby property, its top hat and one hand broken off.
The Humpty Dumpty heist made headlines nationwide as police scoured for the culprit. But thanks to an anonymous tipper who took a gander at the surveillance video, Dongas' mugshot was all it took to identify him as the perpetrator.
Further investigation revealed that Dongas had been in the vicinity of Ocean Putt Golf on the night of the crime, according to his phone records. He has since turned himself in and is facing charges of criminal mischief and trespassing.
In a bizarre twist, police are still searching for any potential accomplices from the surveillance video – which appears to show a second individual lurking around the scene. Whether or not that mystery man will face charges remains to be seen.
The Ocean Putt Golf course, a family-owned institution since 1964, has been left shaken by the incident. As one might expect, the repair and replacement costs are mounting – an estimated $1,000 for repairs and $2,000 for a new statue.
As for Dongas, he'll be facing court proceedings, with bail set at a relatively low $1,000. For now, it seems this poor egg's fate has been cracked wide open.
I mean, I know it's just a small thing to some people but come on, that's like stealing a piece of history or something. And the fact that he ripped it off and walked away with it... that's just reckless. He must have been outta his mind! 
I knew that dude was up to no good! Like, who steals Humpty Dumpty from mini golf? 
This guy's got some serious issues 
I mean, who steals a Humpty Dumpty statue?! 
. The Ocean Putt Golf course is already hurting from this and now they gotta shell out even more cash for repairs and a new statue 
. I hope Dongas gets some serious therapy to deal with whatever demons are driving him to do crazy stuff like this 
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So, there's this dude Blane C. Dongas who steals Humpty Dumpty from a mini golf course and gets caught on camera... like, how does that even happen? 
I'm thinking this is like a classic case of a liberal's free-spiritedness gone wrong – he wanted to express himself by taking a piece of art and leaving it at the mercy of chance. Meanwhile, the dude who owns Ocean Putt Golf is probably over here feeling like his property rights were trampled on. 
It's not about whether or not Dongas' actions are right or wrong; it's about how we as a society handle these kinds of incidents and protect our public spaces from, you know, vandals... 
also can we get an update on the mystery man in the video? is he coming forward or hiding behind a basket ball 
?
. But smashing it up and taking it? That's just vandalism at its worst 
. The good news is that the police caught him and he's facing charges, but it's still pretty frustrating for the mini golf course and all the people who go there 
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. And maybe Dongas will learn his lesson and behave in the future 
. Fingers crossed for everyone involved 
. Now they're gonna have to spend like $2k on a new one that's just crazy. You gotta wonder what got into this guy Dongas, I mean, it's not like he's gonna get parole or anything, 1k bail is pretty harsh for stealin a statue 
what's next gonna be someone stealing a statue of big bird from sesame street?! 
ocean putt golf is already old-school cool but now they gotta deal with this drama 
hope they get that new statue and the dude gets his egg of shame back in a big way 
. And to make matters worse, he got caught on camera like a total schmuck 
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. But I guess $1,000 bail isn't too bad considering what he did. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how this whole thing plays out 
I think Blane C. Dongas might've gotten a bad rep here. I mean, yeah he broke a statue, but that doesn't make him a bad person. He's 29, what's he supposed to do? 
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. And $1,000 bail? Not too shabby 
. I just hope he learns from his mistake (and maybe gets some therapy to deal with those fragile feelings 
i'm not saying he didn't do it, but let's keep things in perspective here... 1k bail is like, nothing. you can get caught with that much cash on the street and still be able to walk free