I feel like when you start conspiracy theorizing you're obligated to follow it to its logical conclusion. If I thought it were a cover-up to protect the store from crazed vigilantes, the last thing I'd do is try and put the store back in danger!

If the ice-cream machine was working properly, then they have one or more competent employees; which points to employee involvement.

If the ice-cream machine was broken, then the likelihood is less and the employees may not have been involved.

It's all very logical.

Those machines are broken by design. Another instance of corporate capture. https://www.wired.com/story/they-hacked-mcdonalds-ice-cream-...

Based on your last sentence: Looks like my conspiracy theory holds some water then!

Plot twist, he hates McDonald's.

He may have been there to kill that McDonald's manager

Giving the reward to a minimum wage worker seems like something he would do if he wanted to give himself up to the police, like why just go to the cops, the reward would be wasted. Although his politics seem incongruent so maybe not.