Rochester Man Charged for Costly Laundromat Burglary

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office filed charges Monday against a Rochester man in connection with a laundromat burglary reported last November. 

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Court documents say the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Mega Coin Laundromat on November 18. The owner reported $100 in coins and keys to a box truck were taken from his office, a hole in the bathroom ceiling and damage to a coin machine. 

The owner told deputies that the suspect had crawled through a hole in the bathroom ceiling to enter a storage room connected to the office. Investigators obtained surveillance footage of the reported burglary and identified the suspect as 44-year-old Mark E. Smith, according to the criminal complaint. 

Court documents say the security footage shows Smith going into a bathroom and not remerging for two hours while the woman did laundry. Smith is then seen leaving the bathroom with a jug under his coat containing an estimated $250 worth of coins. 

Investigators then obtained audio of a call Smith made while he was in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center on November 19. The charges say Smith asked a woman he was speaking with, "Did you take all that change in yet?" 

Smith told investigators he had damaged the coin machine with a screwdriver but never took the change. The owner of the laundromat estimated damage to the facility at $7,500, the complaint says. 

Smith was charged Monday felony second-degree possession of burglary tools, felony third-degree burglary, felony first-degree property damage and misdemeanor theft. The Olmsted County jail roster indicated Smith was booked into custody in February for charges connected to active arrest warrants. 

Court records indicate Smith has three prior burglary convictions in Olmsted County. He’s due to make his first court appearance in connection to the alleged laundromat burglary in May.