Burglars who drilled into laundry machines to steal change caught by police

Two burglars used stolen drills to break the locks on washers and dryers across the city, doing more damage to the laundry machines than the value of the stolen change.

Wichita police said Tuesday that a man and woman are charged with a combined 33 counts of destruction to property, burglary and theft after a string of 16 burglaries primarily targeted laundromats and apartment complex laundry rooms from November to January.

The burglars drilled out the locks on coin boxes on washer and dryer machines before taking the change, Officer Charley Davidson said.

The string of burglaries started when two DeWalt 20-volt drills were stolen at the former Bucks Bar and Grill in the 1000 block of North West Street sometime between Nov. 7 and Nov. 20, according to police reports. A Craftsman table saw and stand, refrigerators, TV projector and 60-inch and 70-inch TVs were also taken.

The first laundry room burglarized was at The Lodge Apartments in the 3600 block of West Kellogg, where three dryers, two washers and a Pepsi machine were damaged in the early morning of Dec. 4, police reports state. Coins totaling $40 were taken, while the damage to machines was listed at $3,000.

Eight more laundry rooms were burglarized in December, police said. At least $270 in change was taken, with over $2,850 in damage to machines, lock boxes and doors, police reports show. Davidson said the burglars did not always leave with cash, but when they did, police were not always able to determine the exact amount of money taken.

Another five laundry rooms were burglarized in January, with at least $1,450 in cash taken and another $2,850 in damage.

The last police report from the cases is from Jan. 9, when police arrested a man and woman. The man had 3 grams of solid meth, valued at $60, and a $10 glass meth pipe.

Taylor Ray Roberts, 25, and Kyle Allen Miller, 32, both of Wichita, were arrested Jan. 9 at the Texas Roadhouse on West Kellogg and remain in the Sedgwick County Jail.

Wichita police did not share the cases with media until Tuesday’s briefing, seven weeks after Roberts and Miller were arrested. Davidson said the cases were part of the Police Department’s sharing of success stories that show the community what good policing looks like.

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Burglars who drilled into laundry machines to steal change caught by police."