Two charged with safecracking at laundromat

An Aiken man charged with stealing coins from a York Street laundry early Tuesday told police he needed the money to pay for a traffic ticket he recently received from the same officer investigating the theft.

Jonathan J. Busch, 32, of Robinhood Trail in Aiken, is charged with two counts of safecracking.

Raymond S. Dixon, 18, of Robinhood Trail in Aiken, is charged with two counts of safecracking.

The officer investigating the York Street theft met with the business manager who told police he found a machine had been burned and the money inside stolen.

The officer described a hole, that was about six inches in diameter, had been burned with a torch into the side of the machine.

The manager then gave police the security camera footage; the officer said he recognized the man on the video.

He said he stopped him for a traffic violation on Barnwell Avenue approximately a week earlier.

He went to the suspect's home and met with the owner of the residence who, police said, let them inside.

Police reported finding a black leather jacket, like the one worn by the man in the video, and a portable acetylene torch similar to the one used to break into the machines, police said.

Noticing attic space, the officer opened the attic door to see if the suspect was hiding from the police. The officer also found a knit cap that was similar to the one the man in the video was wearing.

It was filled with quarters, police said.

Further inside the attic, the officer reported finding Busch.

Busch told police he and another man, later identified as Dixon, broke into the machines and took the money, the officer said.

"He stated that he needed the money to pay the traffic fines from the previous charges," police reported.

Busch also reportedly admitted to breaking into an similar business on East Pine Log Road and stealing coins.

That break-in had already been reported to deputies at the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. Public Safety found the machine there had also been broken into with a torch.

Both men were arrested and charged, police said.

Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.