A thief has emptied a vending machine in the basement of the Life Sciences Complex twice this week, removing its contents on Monday and Wednesday.

The person used a tool to create a small hole the size of a dime on the glass of the vending machine, then used a wire-like material to poke through the hole to make all the candy and snacks fall from their slots, said James Hill, the leading Department of Public Safety detective on the case. The first theft happened between 6-9 a.m. on Monday, he added.

He said he had never seen a crime like this before, and was astonished by the level of effort the thief put into the trick for treats.

“Usually if somebody wants to take something out of the vending machine they just break the glass and kick it,” Hill said. “They’re not going to take that much time to drill this little hole, and sit there and stick something at it and pick at it.”

In addition to the $30 worth of snacks stolen, the replacement glass for the vending machine cost $100, said Michael Toia, a DPS detective.


The thief struck again on Wednesday, with a new hole and an empty vending machine, this time at about 1:45 p.m. DPS has yet to determine the value of all the content lost on Wednesday.

“We have no idea who it could be, it could be anybody,” Hill said. “He’s either got the munchies, or he’s got some type of problem.”

He added that the investigation for the two petit larcenies is “going well.” There are currently no cameras in the area around the vending machine, Hill also said.

Students in the Life Sciences Complex were both perplexed and disappointed when they arrived to an empty vending machine with a small hole on Wednesday.

Yixin Ma, a graduate student studying electrical engineering, who usually gets a Snickers bar from the machine, was astonished when he saw it, and said he had never seen anything like this before.

“I was very surprised, typically it should be full,” he said. “It’s terrible.”

Casey Simons, a graduate student studying chemistry, who usually buys Cheez-Its, said anyone could’ve done the crime, as the doors to that area aren’t usually locked.

Said Simons: “I’m pissed I can’t get my damn Cheez-Its.”