DES MOINES, Iowa (CelebrityAccess) — Des Moines police arrested a volunteer worker at the 80/35 Music Festival for theft after she allegedly stole thousands from a beer tent at the fest.
According to the Des Moines Register, police arrested Jessica Chi Rieper, 34, of Waukee, on Saturday as she was leaving a port-a-potty at the festival. A police report quoted by the Register says that police discovered Rieper with a bag containing thousands of dollars in cash.
Rieper was working as a volunteer at the festival, selling beer tickets at at a tent sponsored by the Greater Des Moines Music Coalition, the nonprofit group behind 80/35 and other festivals.
The police report said that the investigation of the alleged theft began on July 7th after a member of the Coalition reported that one of the tents was missing thousands of dollars.
Rieper told the Register that her arrest was a misunderstanding.
"This is my third year volunteering and we have always received a tip out after each shift, so this was not abnormal for me to take a tip out," she told the newspaper. – Staff Writers