Hero cousins — just 9 and 11 — step up in a big way when they notice trouble at their favorite ice cream shop

Aaron Roesch opened his new ice cream shop in south St. Louis a month ago — and it's quickly become a favorite gathering place for kids in the neighborhood.

Roesch told KTVI-TV in its video report that youngsters often will come into his shop — Aunt Jamie's Frozen Custard and Waffles, named after his aunt and godmother — and "just hang out and do their homework and draw."

'Help people. Be nice to all your adults and peers. Be nice to your elders, and be respectful to your elders.'

Of course, there's always the prospect of sweet treats as well.

"Like, he give us everything," 9-year-old Adonis Pickens told KSDK-TV. "He give us free stuff."

Pickens' cousin, 11-year-old Jayceon Cooper, added to KSDK that he and Adonis are regulars and come to Aunt Jamie's "almost every day, if he open."

But Roesch also noted to KSDK that the boys "immediately were trying to help me ... and they would work for ice cream and snow cones."

"These fellows have become my friends," the shop owner told KTVI, with Jayceon adding, "We're like his little buddies."

Well, the camaraderie the trio share deepened last week when Jayceon and Adonis noticed something disturbing as they approached their favorite ice cream shop on South Broadway and Krauss Street.

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"We came out here to try to buy some ice cream, and his window was just shattered," Adonis told KTVI. "So we just started hearing noise, so I just said, 'Who's in here?'"

A male inside the shop told them he was bleeding, KSDK reported — but it turned out to be red syrup on his clothes.

The boys said the alleged burglar was stuck in the shop, KTVI added, and Adonis called Roesch's number — but when he didn’t answer, Adonis called police.

The cousins kept the guy in the shop talking until officers arrived, KSDK said.

The 42-year-old male suspect told police he broke into the ice cream shop because he thought people were following him, KSDK reported, adding that the suspect was taken into custody.

Ephraim Hayes. Image source: St. Louis Police

St. Louis Police told Blaze News that the St. Louis City Circuit Attorney's Office charged Ephraim Hayes with second-degree burglary and first-degree property damage. Police added to Blaze News that court documents appear to indicate that a judge released Hayes on personal recognizance.

"If I didn't have a friendship with these kids, that guy would have walked away scot-free," Roesch later remarked to KTVI.

Jayceon added to KTVI that his friend Roesch doesn't deserve what happened to his shop after all he does for him and Adonis and the whole neighborhood: "I don't know why people do this to him. Like, he's a nice guy. He shouldn't be treated how people treat him."

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"I want this to be a lasting experience guiding their future in a positive direction," Roesch told Blaze News in regard to Jayceon and Adonis.

The good news is ramping up, as Roesch added to Blaze News that St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer is coming to Aunt Jamie's on Nov. 8 to present an award — and, of course, to "have an ice cream party."

Roesch told KSDK that the community also is growing: "The properties are coming back. The values increased over the past year, and the businesses are coming back."

But he added to KSDK that Jayceon and Adonis are the real story — and that their actions represent valuable lessons for everybody: "Help people. Be nice to all your adults and peers. Be nice to your elders, and be respectful to your elders."

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