Police arrested two men suspected of stealing gaming machines at several 7-Eleven stores across Fairfax County.
A 7-Eleven store employee called police and said two men had stolen a gaming machine and loaded it into a silver truck at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
The store was located at 8434 Frye Road in the Mount Vernon area of Alexandria, according to a Fairfax County Police Department release.
Police searched the area and found a truck that matched the description and had parts of a gaming machine in the truck’s bed. The driver and passenger were also wearing clothes that matched the store's surveillance photos, police said.
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The driver has been identified as Leonard Jones, 59, of Maryland. The passenger is Terrell Hardy, 35, of Maryland.
Police believe the two men are likely connected to gaming machine thefts at 7-Elevens in McLean, Springfield, and Alexandria. The robbers have had four successful thefts and two failed attempts.
Surveillance video from another theft in Fairfax County showed the masked thieves stealing a video gaming machine from a store. The suspects appear to be brazen and blundering, tripping over bottles of water as they make their escape.
"They came in, they just used a crowbar to break open the locks and then it escalated to where they started to remove the entire machine out,” Fairfax County police spokesperson Ryan Lazisky said.
Once inside the stores, the thieves forcibly removed the gaming devices, opened them up and stole the cash.
Police later captured a picture of a gaming machine ditched in the woods once the money inside was stolen.
“These machines are capable of holding up to $40,000,” Lazisky said.
Lazisky confirmed some of that money has been recovered.
News4 reached out to 7-Eleven for a comment but has not heard back.
