2 arrested in SLO County for posing as repair crew to steal laundry room change, cops say
A man and a woman suspected of posing as maintenance workers to steal money from a Morro Bay laundromat Thursday evening were arrested minutes later in a failed getaway, police said.
Morro Bay police received reports of an attempted burglary at a building in the 2100 block of Main St. around 5 p.m., according to a police news release.
A witness said that two people dressed in yellow safety vests and posing as a maintenance or repair crew attempted to pry the change machine open in a laundry room, the release said.
The witness confronted the suspects — later identified as Kelley Lynn Burchnell, 30, and Anthony Ishmael Farley, 25 — and they fled southbound on Main St. in a vehicle, police said.
San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office deputies spotted the suspects’ vehicle about eight minutes later and pulled the car over, the release said.
Sheriff’s deputies discovered both suspects had outstanding warrants, police said, and a search revealed that Burchnell was in possession of methamphetamine.
When Morro Bay police arrived at the scene of the traffic stop, they reportedly found property in the vehicle that had been reported stolen in a vehicle burglary in San Luis Obispo.
Burchnell and Farley were arrested on suspicion of outstanding warrants, burglary and possession of burglary tools. Burchnell also faces charges of possession of stolen property and methamphetamine, police said.
Farley was being held at San Luis Obispo County Jail at midday Friday in lieu of $66,000 bail, according to jail records Burchnell did not appear to be in jail custody.
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
