Oct. 22, 2018 By Laura Hanrahan
Police are searching for a man who stole $13,000 worth of jewelry from a vending machine at the William Vale Hotel last month.
The man used fake credit cards to purchase the jewelry from the machine at 111 North 12th Street at around 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 20, according to police.
The outdoor vending machine, an installation by Manhattan-based jewelry designer Marla Aaron, dispensed hand-made pieces ranging in price from $165 to $1,588. The machine originally opened at The Brooklyn Museum in November 2017, but was moved to its Williamsburg location this summer.
Aaron spent two years creating it after being inspired by high-tech vending machines in Japan.
The machine has since been removed from the hotel grounds, the Daily News reported.
The man is described at black, in his 20s to 30s, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and 220 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt and grey pants.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can be submitted by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.