Deputy Finds $10,000 on Coffee Shop Floor

Goleta- January 27th, 2010

It wasn’t exactly like winning the lottery, but a little luck and some fortuitous timing proved to be a $10,000 difference for a 66-year old man from Goleta.

At just before 11AM on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Kouremetis  (kore-MET-us) stopped at Coffee Mojo on the 7000-block of Hollister Avenue in Goleta to pick up a cup of coffee while on break from patrol. As he approached the counter to place an order, Deputy Kouremetis stepped on an object lying on the ground. When he looked down, he discovered a stack of one-hundred dollar bills neatly wrapped with a band that said $10,000.

Deputy Kouremetis showed the stack of bills to the barista who was just as shocked by the discovery. When Deputy Kouremetis asked who had been the last customer, the barista pointed to a couple sitting at a table outside Coffee Mojo.

Before contacting the couple, Deputy Kouremetis counted the money ($9,900) before securing the cash. He then spoke with the couple and learned that the 66-year old man had recently lost his wallet and checkbook. The man had withdrawn the money to pay his bills including a stop at the DMV next door. After further investigation Deputy Kouremetis was able to confirm that the man had indeed made a payment at the DMV with a hundred dollar bill from the stack of bills marked $10,000.

The money had apparently fallen out of the man’s bag when he stopped at Coffee Mojo. Fortunately Deputy Kouremetis was the first person to see the cash which he returned to the man after determining the man was indeed the owner of the money. Later, when asked about the incident, Deputy Kouremetis simply said, “That’s what we’re supposed to do.”

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