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| Mister Softee ice cream truck |
(Scroll down for video) A popular kid’s ice cream truck was carjacked, according to police reports in Pennsylvania.
Reading Police are trying to find the person responsible for the carjacking of the Mister Softee ice cream truck. It happened Friday afternoon when a man jumped into a Mister Softee ice cream truck and held the driver at knifepoint, police said. The thief caused the driver to take him to another area, where he took money and jumped out of the truck near the 1200 block of Greenwich Street, police said.
The driver was unhurt. Anyone with information can call their local police department or Crime Stoppers. A cash reward of up to $5,000 is offered for information leading to an arrest.
This was not the first time that ice cream trucks were involved in crime. As we reported earlier, a real ice cream war has broken out in New York between rival ice cream truck operators which saw some ice cream mud-slinging in the streets leading to two arrests, according to a statement released by the New York State Police.
The relationship between the rival ice cream truck operators in upstate New York, turned cold last year and spiraled out of control this season, with Sno Cone Joe trying to chase Mr. Ding-A-Ling out of the market, officials said Wednesday.
Gloversville Police said that two Sno Cone Joe operators face harassment and stalking charges after heated clashes last month that included one of them shouting "This is my city!" against the Ding-A-Ling operator.
The Ding-A-Ling driver told police that Joshua Malatino and Amanda Scott, followed his truck, playing their music at high volume in order to drive away customers, and promised them free ice cream.
Police said that Malatino also called the suburban Albany headquarters of Mr. Ding-A-Ling and said: "I own this town!" Claiming that Sno Cone Joe controls the frozen ice cream market in Gloversville, an old industrial city about 35 miles northwest of Albany.
Captain John Sira said that Malatino was warned this spring after the police intervened when an officer saw some illegal activity during a patrol.
Malatino, 34, and Scott, 21, both of Gloversville, were charged Tuesday with second-degree harassment, and fourth-degree stalking, a misdemeanor. In the video below you can see both ice cream trucks having a run in with each other.