Man charged with robbing $10,000 from laundry machines
October 1, 2012 11:24PM
Updated: October 2, 2012 2:26PM
MERRILLVILLE -- A former employee of Chappelle Le Grande Apartment Complex is accused of stealing money from the complex’s laundry machines since April.
Gary resident Michael Duane Lightsey, 53, is charged with theft
Equity Property Management, who owns the complex, notified police about thefts from their coin laundry machines. A typical collection from the machines is about $1,000 a month, but since April the collections dropped to about $90 per month. The company noticed significantly lower collections at its other Merrillville properties, including Maple Leaf, Cloisters, Edgewood, Tan Terra and Mount Vernon. The machines suffered no damage, so the company assumed that a key was used to unlock the machine.
On Sept. 19, a video caught a man entering the laundry room and removing all of the currency from the machines. Equity identified the man at Lightsey, who resigned his position on Aug. 31. Lightsey was never given permission to remove the currency, which totalled $10,000.
Man shoplifts liquor at Meijer, threatens employees
A man stole $500 worth of alcohol from Meijer and threatened to shoot employees when they tried to stop him early Sunday morning.
Around 1:54 a.m., the man headed out the door Meijer, located at 611 W. 81st Ave., with a cart full of hard liquor. He was confronted by an employee, but the suspect said “get out of my way or I’ll shoot you.” He put the alcohol inside a grey 2003 Chevy SUV and proceeded to drive west in the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30. Police chased the man for a while, but they eventually lost track of him.
Woman’s purse snatched at apartment
A man pushed a woman, then stole her purse Sunday evening inside her apartment complex.
Around 8:34 p.m., a woman was entering her apartment complex, located in the 5300 block of Connecticut Street, when a man came up behind her and pushed her to the ground. He snatched her Coach purse and fled east on foot through the complex.
The woman said the suspect was wearing all black clothing, including a black hooded sweatshirt.
