1 held in plunder of coin machines

Little Rock police arrested a man Sunday in the break-ins of coin machines at various Little Rock carwashes over the past month.

On Oct. 31, a coin machine at Mr. Bubbles Car Wash at 6424 W. 65th St. was damaged. A security camera at the scene recorded a man pulling up in a white truck and then moving the camera so he was outside its view.

A separate video at the Splash Car Wash at 9020 Geyer Springs Road shows the same white truck pull up to a coin machine there Nov. 1.

The Splash Car Wash at 8020 Base Line Road had two of its coin machines broken into Nov. 4. Two days later, machines at PKS Auto Spa at 6015 Forbing Road were broken into. The same white pickup was shown on camera.

That truck was seen by a patrol officer Sunday driving through the area of Base Line Road and Production Drive. The officer pulled the vehicle over because the taillights were not working and identified the driver as Michael Allen Smith, 43, and the passenger as Louis Harrington.

Both occupants had warrants out of Pulaski County, and Smith had Hydrocodone tablets on him, according to a police report. The officer found parts of a coin machine in the bed of the pickup.

Smith was brought to a substation Monday and questioned about the theft, but refused to give a statement after he was shown video of the thefts, the report said.

Police charged him with three counts of breaking and entering, three counts of theft of property and four counts of criminal mischief. He remains in Pulaski County jail in lieu of a $17,000 bond.