Thief caught on camera snatching gumball machine from laundromat

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) – A laundromat that’s open 24 hours a day had the wrong kind of late-night visitor.

A thief walked into the White Spot Laundromat in Muncie and walked right out with a hefty payday on his shoulder.

Owner Brian Schrieve said crime has not been a problem in the past.

But the most recent incident takes the cake, or in this case the candy. There’s an empty spot in the corner of his laundromat where his tall gumball machine used to stand until a thief snatched it overnight last weekend.

Security cameras caught the crime. Footage shows the man walk directly toward the machine, lift it onto his shoulder and leave. Shrieve guessed it weighed 100 pounds. He said it took two people to carry it inside but joked about how it only took one man to take it out.

Since the laundromat is always open, customers come and go at any hour. That’s why the thief didn’t need to break in. There also isn’t any staff overnight nor any witnesses.

Just about everything in the business runs on quarters, from the washers and dryers to the vending machines, but Shrieve thinks the gumball machine was targeted because it wasn’t secured to the floor.

“It’s discouraging,” he said. “I would have gladly given the guy the five or ten dollars worth of quarters that were in it if he needed it.”

Shrieve hopes the thief returns the sweet spoils, but he doesn’t expect the man to come clean, nor does he plan to change would might have helped the man commit the dirty deed.

“We like being open 24 hours,” he said. “We have customers that enjoy that aspect of our business. So we’ll keep on doing what we’re doing.”

Anyone who thinks they saw the suspect early Sunday morning — or knows someone who suddenly owns a large gumball machine — can call the Muncie Police Department or Muncie Crime Stoppers at 765-286-4050.