On June 14, Charles A. Norman, 41, entered a plea of guilty on a charge of attempted residential burglary.

According to court documents, on June 30, 2022, an employee of a Leavenworth apartment complex reported a burglary, per a release from the Leavenworth County Attorney’s office.

During the investigation, police learned that over the past two weeks, there has been an issue with people breaking into the laundry rooms in the apartment buildings and using pliers to open the change boxes on the machines. A camera placed in the hallway of one of the apartment buildings captured a man breaking into one of the laundry rooms.

Pictures from that surveillance video identified Norman as the man who burglarized the facility on June 29.

According to the employee, the coin box lid was being removed using pliers and maybe a flathead screwdriver. Then, a stick coated with a tar-like substance was inserted into the hole to retrieve the coins from inside.

Norman was sentenced to 12 months of supervised probation.

“A crime is a crime, and this is a crime,” said Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson. “People make a living on these machines, and people can’t be allowed just to do this. We must do what we can to deter this behavior and hopefully, with supervision, help the person.”