WEST JORDAN, Utah — After receiving several calls from laundromat owners about burglaries targeting their businesses in West Valley City and West Jordan, FOX 13 News went to the communities to find out their next steps to stop the crimes.
It’s been a long and busy week for Teresa Steele, the owner of District Coin Laundry.
“At 5 or 5:30, our cleaner called and let us know that we’ve been robbed,” she said.
In the middle of the night, Steele says burglars broke through the laundromat's back door and stole or damaged more than $8,000 worth of machines and equipment.
Now that she's reported the damage to her insurance company, Steele worries it could raise her premium and hurt the business in the long run. It's one of the reasons why she wants to bring this vicious cycle to an end.
“I really don’t expect to recover the equipment costs but because these people are being so brazen and hitting other places, we’d really like to see them caught,” Steele said.
Raw surveillance video below shows suspects breaking into laundromat:
Businesses in several cities are now banding together to help catch the two suspects seen on security camera video.
“We all communicate because we think we have the same problems and we’ve been willing to put together a reward, pooling that, and that’s money out of our pockets just so that these bad guys stop causing problems for the rest of us,” explained King Laundry owner Smith Ballstaedt.
King Laundry wasn’t hit during the current spree, but the Ballstaedt knows the toll it can take on the business.
“I’ve had machines torn out of the walls, I’ve had money boxes jimmied and it’s not a joke trying to get those money boxes out ourselves," he said. "It's having to buy a new $140 money box. It’s not about the money that they steal, it’s about the damage that they leave.”
Video shows suspects leaving in vehicle after breaking into laundromat:
Both District Coin Laundry and King Laundry are flooded with security cameras –
“We keep it well-lit and keep our eyes on the place so people can feel safe when they come here,” said Steele.
While the owners know one bad person can ruin it for everyone else, Steele has made it a top priority to keep the laundromat's doors open, welcoming the community with open arms and full laundry baskets.
“I don’t think we’ve had a chance to feel anything," Steele shared, 'we’ve just been problem solving.”
Unified Police has an open case into the laundromat burglaries and FOX 13 News will continue to track what's happening as the investigations continue.
