Cleveland Public Library Branch Pay Stations Robbed In String of Late-Night Break-Ins

Pay stations used to fund copies and scans were robbed in at least four Cleveland Public Library branches this summer.

Six times in August, one suspect burglarized the Langston Hughes, Addison, Lorain, and Fleet branches, among a possible string of others, for the sole purpose of taking the cash used to pay for library services, police reports detailed. No suspect has yet been arrested.

Each pay station costs roughly $8,500 to replace, not including the funds inside.

CPL’s Chief Strategy Officer Tana Peckham confirmed the crimes on Friday.

“We have had a series of break ins,” Peckham said. “They’re all active investigations with the Cleveland Police Department. We are cooperating with the police to be able to identify, and find out, who may have done this.”

As the police reports detail, one man, typically wearing a hoodie and a face covering, has been breaking into CPL branches since at least August. After smashing windows with a pipe, usually around 3:30 in the morning, the man smacks open the control panel of the library’s cash machine. He pockets an unknown amount of money, then flees.

In at least two occasions, police officers or private security have intervened.

On August 28th, CPD officers caught a theft in-progress at the Addison branch at 6901 Superior Ave., and chased the suspect on foot “several yards” until losing sight of him. It’s unclear if any money was stolen on that occasion.

And on August 6th, a private security guard arrived at the scene at the Addison branch. The thief ran at the guard with a metal pipe, the report read. The guard said he fired three shots, though the officers could “not locate the spent rounds.”

“Once in the library, the suspect took the library card purchasing machine and forced it open by beating it with the pipe,” the report reads. “He also attempted to take it out the window but was unsuccessful.”

CPD has not yet announced if they have any suitable leads.

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