STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- A Cleveland man accused of stealing donations intended to aid a childhood cancer organization has turned himself over to Strongsville police and pleaded not guilty to theft charges, police reported.

Johnny J. Whitaker, 33, faces two counts of theft in connection with the theft of a donation box earlier this month at a pretzel store at the SouthPark Mall.

Police say Auntie Anne's employees noticed the Alex's Lemonade Stand box was missing when the opened the store on July 9. Security footage showed a man and woman approach the store on July 8 after employees closed up, according to a Strongsville police report.

The man apparently fiddled with a security wire attached to the donation box and walked off with it, the report says. The box contained an estimated $50 to $70 collected for Alex's Lemonade Stand, a charitable foundation to help combat childhood cancer.

Alex's Lemonade Stand is the legacy of Alexandra "Alex" Scott, who, at age 4, started holding lemonade stands to fight cancer. Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer, just before her first birthday, and died when she was 8 years old.

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