The Life and Crimes of a Gumball Machine Thief
Photo by Azikiwe Mohammed

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The Life and Crimes of a Gumball Machine Thief

On February 19th, Bronx cops solved a sticky crime with the arrest of a 39-year-old grown adult male who stole over 100 gumball machines around the New York area. The list of crimes, however, was far more impressive than the amount of gumballs they...
Photo by Azikiwe Mohammed

The Bronx streets are safer after a sticky situation with a gumball robber was popped.

On Thursday, Febuary 19th, cops arrested a 39-year-old grown adult male after he stole more than 100 gumball machines around the Bronx and Westchester areas.

Dozens of other cases are still under investigation.

According to the New York Daily News, laundromats around the area were hardest hit; Mei Lein, for example, was one of the victims who owns Mei Laundromat and Dry Cleaner. Her machine went missing along with the quarters that were in it. The store owner couldn't contain herself when she learned the great news this Thursday.

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But in his most complex heist, the Gumball Thief was able to carefully extract a double-decker machine from a company that sells and distributes them. His mastermind plan involved impersonating a gumball vendor. According to one victim, "They had a car out front and said they were from the company." The machine, which contained five dispensers—and mostly filled to the brim with gumballs—cost approximately $1,500.

At another crime scene, the Wash & Dry Laundromat near E. 158th street, two gumball machines valued at $350 vanished into thin air.

Luckily, one witness was standing inside the laundry mat as he watched the thief grab the machine and run out to his car. As he witnessed the robber slip on ice, he was able to spot his license plate, which spelled out "GUM" and four other numbers.

On Thursday, February 19th, the Gumball Bandit was caught by 40 detectives and a burglary team unit after stealing over 100 machines. The 75 cent candy dispensers helped fuel the perpetrator's drug habit.

When his mother learned the news, she burst her own son's bubble:

"I don't know anything about something so stupid. I don't have a single gumball in my house."