Two arrested for theft of pop machine

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) - Johnson County detectives have arrested two men for an unusual theft. An anonymous tip led police to the suspects.  It was a bold and unusual theft all caught on camera.

"It's pretty unusual to steal a large item like that," Johnson County Sheriff's department Detective Andy Barnhart said.

On December 30th, two men drove up to the Circle City Pizza shop on Bluff and County Line Roads in Johnson County and stole the pop machine outside.

Several surveillance cameras showed them load the machine in the back of a truck.

"There was quite a few drinks in it," business owner Justin Donica said.

Police say the two suspects in the surveillance video are 20 year-old Gerald Danford and 21-year-old Larry Key of Indianapolis. Both men are in the Johnson County Jail after they admitted to the crime.

Indianapolis Metro Police got an anonymous tip after someone called Crime Stoppers about the theft. The caller even told investigators they could find this white truck in Danford's driveway.

"They told them that the recognized the two people in the truck from the surveillance video," Det. Barnhart said.

About an hour after the first call, Crime Stoppers received a second tip that someone had located the missing pop machine. Police found the machine under a pedestrian pathway at Raymond Street and White River Parkway.

"They did it in such a way that it was hidden from Raymond Street where they were parked," Det. Barnhart said.

Detectives say someone had forced open the machine. Police say $870 in drinks and $30 in cash had been removed.

Investigators credit the tipster for the quick arrests.

"The fast action of Crime Stoppers and getting it to the media outlets so that it could be viewed by a large number of people is definitely is solely responsible for us being able to catch these people," Det. Barnhart said.

Johnson County Detectives called the Coca-Cola Distribution Center to remove the pop machine from under the parkway. Coca-Cola says the machine is worth at least $2,500.