Written by
Nancy Drury Duncan
EASTVILLE -- A man who was part of a national criminal ring that breaks into beverage-vending machines and takes the money has pleaded guilty in Northampton Circuit Court.
James Tyson, 57, of Severna Park, Md., was convicted of grand larceny and will be sentenced after guidelines are prepared.
Calling it "one of the most interesting crimes in a long time," Commonwealth's Attorney Bruce Jones told the court about the events that led to Tyson's arrest.
He and another man went into the visitor's center at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, where there are a lot of vending machines, Jones said.
One of the men moved the surveillance camera and the other began to take paper money from the machines using lock-picking tools, he said.
The machines were stocked by the Coca-Cola Co. Jones said he was told the company has a person who only job is to investigate this kind of crime, which he said costs Coca Cola billions of dollars annually.
Jones told the court that Tyson was part of a larger ring of thieves across the country who do this.
Jones said he was told that an expert can made between $100,000 to $200,000 annually and has resulted in the repositioning of public drink machines.
She asked that he be sentenced, but the court waited to get information on the sentencing guidelines for the crime.
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