[Editor's note: Whitemarsh Police contacted Patch to say that a suspect, named in the original version of this story, has been cleared of any wrongdoing. We have removed their name from the article.]

Everyone gets tempted by the contents of a vending machine from time to time. It's just not typically the thousands of dollars stored inside.

Whitemarsh Police are investigating an attempted theft from a vending machine at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, in which it appears the suspect was the same individual who made off with thousands of dollars from the machines in a previous crime.

According to a report filed at the department, police were dispatched to PWHS at approximately 5 p.m. on June 11th for the report of a theft in progress. Officers then met with a school security officer, who told them she was watching security cameras at about 4:30 p.m. when she saw a man messing around with one of the machines.

The officer told police that she recognized the man as the one who had previously broken into the vending machines at the high school and stolen thousands of dollars. The report did not say when that theft occurred.

She then approached the man, along with another security guard, outside of the vending machine area and asked for identification. The man told the officers his name was John Jacobs, before he suddenly took off running, the report said. Security pursued him until he reached a 2000 Volvo and was able to make a getaway by heading west on Germantown Pike.

Police later reviewed security footage that showed that the man was attempting to access the machines using a set of keys, which he had used in the prior crime.

Police then ran information from the vehicle through a police database, and believed they identified a suspect. However, according to Whitemarsh Police, that individual was cleared of suspicion, and the investigation continues.

Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us @PW_Patch