LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Instead of washing clothes, two thieves cleaned out the change machine at a Lexington laundromat and got away with more than $1,000.
While most people were wrapping presents and waiting for Santa Claus, these thieves were cashing out at Splash Em Out Laundromat on Bryan Station Road last Christmas Eve.
The theft in the middle of the afternoon was caught on camera.
On the video, a woman is seen acting as a lookout as a man slyly breaks into the machine.
Lexington Police say due to the busy Christmas holiday, the change machine had not been emptied on its regular schedule. The machine held between $1,500 and $3,500.
The thieves didn’t appear to be in a hurry. That, combined with the ease in which the man broke into the machine, leads police to believe this was not their first time pulling off such a theft.
“These guys don’t just show up one day and realize this lock is something they can get into,” said Lexington police Detective Mark Thomas. “I promise you when we look at this guy’s history, we’re gonna find out he’s had some sort of past or history with theft and he’s probably got some sort of mechanical knowledge. Maybe he’s worked as a maintenance man construction something somewhere.”
Police believe the thieves could live right in the Bryan Station area.
If caught, the pair will face felony theft charges.
