Pair allegedly causes $10,000 damage drilling out coin machine at Whatcom laundromat
A Bellingham man and a Blaine woman allegedly caused an estimated $10,000 damage to a Lynden laundromat and dry cleaning shop when they broke in and attempted to steal from a coin and cash machine early Sunday.
The Lynden Police Department booked Tyler Curran Ray Fehlman, 33, and Crystal Lynn Wilson, 27, Aug. 23 on suspicion of first-degree malicious mischief, second-degree burglary and second-degree attempted theft. Jail records show Wilson was released on personal recognizance later Sunday, while Fehlman was released Monday on $10,000 bail.
Officers were sent at 1:37 a.m. Sunday to the 1700 block of Front Street for a report of a theft in progress, after the store owner reported seeing a man and woman attempting to break into the store’s coin and cash machine via surveillance video, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents.
Police arrived to find Wilson standing guard, documents state, and Fehlman soon exited holding a laundry bag. Both were detained and the store owner emailed video footage to the officers.
Fehlman could be seen on the video drilling out the lockbox on the coin machine using a black-and-green drill, according to documents, and a black-and-green drill in the bag police found him carrying. Officers also observed the damage to the coin machine, which the store owner estimated to be approximately $8,000.
In addition, the lock received another $2,000 in estimated damages, court documents state. The store owner also said there was between $1,200 and $1,400 of coin and cash inside the machine.
