Gordon county deputies responded to a report of a theft this week from a coin operated air compressor at a convenience store near Calhoun.
Witnesses described the thieves fleeing in a black Chevy SUV. About an hour later, deputies spotted the offenders breaking into another machine at a convenience store in Calhoun. Other officers responded and the pair surrendered peacefully. Deputies found over a thousand dollars ($1000.00) in quarters in their automobile, along with a stolen license plate, a crowbar used to break into the machine, and a shop vac they used to extract the coins.
Sheriff’s detectives found where they were staying at a local motel, executed a search warrant there, and found several thousands of dollars in quarters in the room. One of the violators told one of the arresting officers they’d been targeting machines all the way down from Maryland to Georgia.
The defendants were identified as: 1. Wilbur Antonio Flores, age 33, of Baltimore, MD, and 2. Luis Viera, age 33, of Brooklyn, MD.
