Video gaming machines at a pair of local gas stations were targeted by thieves in the early morning hours on Monday.
According to the Red Bud Police Department, at 1:05 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 30, Officer Michael Collins was called to the Moto Mart gas station on South Main in reference to a theft from a video gaming machine.
He was instructed to contact a video tech with J&J Ventures Gaming in reference to the theft. The tech told Collins that he monitors the cameras in gaming areas at various locations in Illinois. Around 12:55 a.m., he observed a black male enter the gaming area at Moto Mart.
The black male then walked over to a gaming machine and pulled out a long screw driver or small crowbar and pried open the panel to the cash box. He then removed the cash box and walked out of the gaming room around 12:58 a.m.
For more on this incident, please see this week’s print edition.