A rash of burglaries at coin operated car wash vacuum machines across two cities have lead to the arrest of three people.
San Benito police have charged the trio for stealing hundreds of dollars in quarters from the “San Benito Clean Machine”.
Business owner Danny Payton said his two other carwash locations in Harlingen were targeted by thieves earlier in the week.
"Right now with the economy so bad... every quarter counts. They're tearing down the machines, they're taking a few dollars... They're not getting a lot," said Payton.
Police linked the three suspects to Payton’s businesses after they admitted to burglarizing them using crow bars and tire irons.
Payton said he caught the thieves red-handed early Wednesday morning and contacted police with their vehicle description.
They were later caught in Harlingen reportedly with the burglary tools and $430 dollars worth of quarters.
Despite the arrests, police don’t believe these types of opportunistic crimes will be ending anytime soon.
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