The Omnibus

Issue date: 10/21/09 Section: News

The people accused of stealing large amounts of cash from vending machines on campus were caught on SBU cameras, which helped lead to their arrest.

A pair wanted for stealing from vending machines on campus was arrested in Greene County on Oct. 7, extradited to Camden County to face previous charges, and will face class C felony charges in Polk County.
Police say Southwest Baptist University's security cameras caught Ricky Mayhugh and Jorja D'Anne Stout removing money from some of the 20 vending machines on campus.
The amount came to a total of $877.60, according to the Bolivar Police Department.
The Bolivar Police Department also received a crime bulletin on Sept. 17 from the Springfield police department referencing Stout and Mayhugh for stealing money from vending machines in their area.
"In the bulletin it stated that in an interview Ricky Mayhugh stated that they continue to steal money from vending machines in the surrounding areas to support a methamphetamine habit," said Detective Dusty Ross' probable cause statement.
"The cameras are an excellent tool, and without them in this case it would have without a doubt gone unsolved," said Detective Ross.
"We got the good photos of them walking in and walking out actually committing a crime. The shot where he is breaking into the one [vending machine] in the student union is priceless," said Ross.
A student first alerted Safety and Security after spotting Mayhugh and Stout acting suspiciously in Goodson Student Union near the vending machine at 10:50 a.m. on Sept. 12.
Kevin and Sheri Patterson, the owners of the vending machines, state that if it weren't for the female student who first reported the suspects, their next attempts to steal vending machine money at SBU might have gone uninterrupted.
Mayhugh and Stout were almost apprehended by police when Safety and Security officer Stephen Gonzalez tried to block in their car near the Casebolt Music Building at 7:50 a.m. Sept. 17.
"I took the security vehicle and attempted to block them in," said Gonzalez in the Sept. 23 edition of the Omnibus.
"I called 911, walked to the exit [in the building] they were going to leave by, asked what they were doing and told them not to leave."
The couple escaped as no car was parked on the left.
Abandoning their borrowed vehicle in Springhill apartments west of campus, Mayhugh and Stout fled on foot.
The suspects are still in Camden County jail and have not made bail.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools