Thief Caught On Camera Stealing From Photo Booth
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Technology might get the better of a man wanted in Batavia for breaking into the cash drawer of a photo booth, which unbeknownst to him was secretly taking pictures.
Batavia Police said the man went behind the curtain of a cash-operated photo booth at Funway Amusements, an indoor amusement park, and pried open the cash drawer.
Detective Kevin Bretz said this particular photo booth had built-in security.
"What the person didn't know was, if you start to tamper with this machine in any way, it takes your picture while you're sitting there, and we just happened to get pictures of our offender," Bretz said.
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The booth took three perfectly clear images of the suspect, who got away with about $75 and caused about $75 in damage to the machine.
The crime occurred in late November, but the owner of the business didn't get a service tech to come out and retrieve the pictures until this week, so police couldn't distribute the photos until Thursday morning. Batavia police posted the pictures on Facebook, and shared them with the media.
"You have to assume you're on camera anywhere you're at, no matter whether you're out in public, or you're in a place like this, or whether you're sitting in a photo booth with the curtain closed and trying to get into a machine. It's going to take your picture, so yes, it's everywhere," Bretz said.
Anyone who recognizes the thief should call Batavia police at 630-454-2500.
