Thieves zero in on vending machines

Attacks on at least six snack and soda dispensers this month yielded mixed results. Police have surveillance tapes of some of the incidents.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 22, 2003

LARGO -- Vending machines are in danger.

Thieves have been prying into vending machines outside local businesses over the past three weeks. Police said there have been at least six machine break-ins, most on East Bay Drive and Seminole Boulevard. There also have been some outside city limits, police said.

The thieves haven't been very successful. They're only getting into the machines in half of their attempts, and their total loot has been less than $150.

The rash began Feb. 4 at the Farrington Apartments, where the thieves tried to break into two machines. Both attempts were unsuccessful.

They hit two Pepsi machines at the Kash n' Karry on East Bay Drive that same night, this time making off with $13.

They struck again over the next weekend, yanking $45 from a Coke machine at Lifeline Auto Repair on U.S. 19 and getting $90 from a candy machine at Goodyear Tires on East Bay Drive.

On Feb. 10, the thieves tried to tear open a change machine on the wall of the Bright and Clean Laundry on East Bay Drive but were unsuccessful.

They also came up empty at a Scrub and Dub Car Wash on Thursday night.

Each of the break-ins has occurred at night.

Police haven't tracked down any suspects, but investigators have culled some surveillance video from two of the businesses.

Two suspects are pictured in each video, though in one video a suspect is masked. The team of thieves in each video may not be the same, and it's possible more than one group is targeting the machines, said Largo police Detective Mark Dakoski.

The detective said businesses are wise to have video cameras installed in hard-to-see places. He said those surveillance videos will be very helpful in his investigation.

"The most helpful thing has been the video cameras," Dakoski said. "We have several businesses that have video cameras in inconspicuous areas that aren't real visible."

Anyone with information about the break-ins can call Largo police at 587-6730 and ask for Detective Dakoski.

-- Chris Tisch can be reached at 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com .

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