Thief with cash on a string steals thousands from car washes, police say

Vic Ryckaert | IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS — A traveling thief has been using a $20 bill on a string to steal thousands of dollars from self-serve car washes in Indiana and other states.

The man was caught on surveillance cameras at car washes Aug. 4 and Jan. 26 in Mooresville, about 15 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

"We've only really had two dealings with him, but he's a large pain," said Detective Donald Kays of the Mooresville Police Department.

The thief appears to hit car washes near major highways. Kays said.

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Police are unsure how many have occurred. They know he has struck in at least two other Indiana cities and in Illinois, New York and Ohio, Kays said.

On July 10 the man stole $700 from the Splash N Shine in Boardman Township, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown. Surveillance images that police released show the man holding a bill that appears to be laminated in plastic.

The man "continuously used a $20 bill to trigger a purchase then hit refund," Boardman Detective Richard Romeo said in a wanted poster urging the public to help identify the thief.

The man canceled the transaction, collected the change and then fished the bill out with a stringlike piece of plastic.

"The suspect had placed plastic over the bill keeping the teeth of the machine from shredding it when pulled back out," Boardman Township (Ohio) police said.

The man conceals his license plate and wipes away his fingerprints, but he doesn't try to hide his face. Images show him driving two different vans.

Mooresville and Boardman Township police have released clear images of the thief and his vans.

"We hope that these pictures will help identify him," Kays said.

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