A man and woman suspected of stealing coins from laundry machines at apartment complexes in El Segundo were arrested before dawn Tuesday.
An officer stopped a car about 4:20 a.m. near Washington Street and Maple Avenue and learned that the driver was on post-release community supervision, according to El Segundo police, who did not specify the reason for the traffic stop.
“Further investigation revealed that inside of the car were numerous screwdrivers (commonly used by thieves to pry open things), wrenches wrapped in black tape and over $200 worth of quarters,” according to a police statement
“Officers checked nearby apartment complex laundry rooms as they are often targeted by thieves who want to steal the money inside of coin-operated washers/dryers.”
Inside one of the complexes, they found someone had pried open a laundry room washing machine and taken coins from it while in two other laundry rooms it appeared someone tried unsuccessfully to pry open machines, police said.
“Based upon the totality of the circumstances the driver and his female passenger were arrested on the suspicion of committing numerous theft related crimes,” police said.
The suspects were identified as David Deleon of Los Angeles and Aidee Felix of Compton. Both are 34, police said.
“It appears the suspects were targeting coin-operated machines in the city,” police said. “The duo may have also been driving around other parts of the city looking for items to steal.”
Anyone with information about the suspects was urged to contact El Segundo police Sgt. Aaron Corkins at (310) 524-2271 or acorkins@elsegundo.org.
