Birmingham Police still seeking tips on parking meter thief

Birmingham police are seeking the public's help in identifying a man who has allegedly stolen thousands of dollars from parking meters in Birmingham and surrounding communities. Police have just one lead so far -- an image captured on a surveillance camera of the suspect breaking into a parking meter. Though the heavyset white man wearing a fur-trimmed coat is the only one caught on the film, police believe there are at least two suspects involved.

Law enforcement officials say that the thefts have been going for several months. From Oct. 23 to December, about $4,000 in coins were looted from parking meters in Royal Oak alone, and another $4,000 worth of damage was done to the meters. In Birmingham, thieves actually sawed off five entire parking meters starting on Sept. 21. It's believed that they used these meters to make molds for meter keys so that the thieves could then go up to other meters and open them easily without drawing too much attention to themselves.

Anyone with any information concerning the thefts is encouraged to call the Birmingham Police Department at 248-530-1870.

Source:

http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2010/04-07-2010/Parking-meter-thief.asp