Police arrested a man Friday suspected of stealing more than $3,000 from Long Island vending machines.
Cesar Cruz, 56, of Hempstead, was arrested shortly after midnight Friday, police said. He's the prime suspect in a series of vending machine robberies in Nassau County dating back to at least May of this year.
The latest robbery happened late Thursday night at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. Police found Cruz riding a bicycle in the area. An investigation revealed that he was carrying cash and coins from a damaged park vending machine, police said. He was arrested at the scene.
Cruz faces a number of charges including burglary, grand larceny, criminal mischief, petit larceny, and possession of burglary tools. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Hempstead on Friday.
Police say Cruz's arrest allows them to close a number of other investigations on Long Island involving cash stolen from vending machines.
