Iowa Man Charged With Stealing Air

People steal things all the time. You name it, it's probably been stolen. This man has been accused of stealing air.

34-year-old Travis Alan Kummer of Mason City has been charged with stealing an air-duster two-pack on what was apparently a very bad day... Sunday, March 4.

Early that morning, around 1:48 a.m., Kummer was observed jaywalking by a Deputy for the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Department, according to court documents. When told to stop, Kummer is accused of running. The Mason City Globe-Gazette says he was arrested and charged with "misdemeanor failure to use a crosswalk."

Kummer is accused of leaving jail later in the day and heading to the local Wal-Mart store where he's accused of taking off with the duster two-pack at around 2:55 p.m.

A criminal complaint from the Mason City Police Department said,

Travis was identified by video surveillance as he was wearing the same clothing in the video as he had logged into jail from early that morning.

Kummer allegedly hid the air-duster two-pack, valued at $4.74, in his clothes and took off from the store. He then is accused of tossing the cans in a trash can outside before running from the Wal-Mart parking lot. Court documents allege that he admitted stealing the air during a phone conversation with an officer from the Mason City Police Department.

Kummer is due in court on the jaywalking charge on April 3 and the air-duster two-pack theft charge on March 29. He was convicted of theft in Floyd County in 2002 and Cerro Gordo County in 2012. If Kummer is convicted of this theft charge in Cerro Gordo County, prosecutors say they will ask for jail time. That would certainly be a hefty price to pay for stealing... air.