2 suspects held for cleaning out coin laundry machines

Talk about a big haul. Not to mention heavy.

The owner of a Costa Mesa Laundromat at 2263 Fairview Road reported early Friday that someone busted into several washing machines and stole the quarters.

On Thursday, when police arrested Thomas Barber, 47, of Compton and John Hubbard, 46, of Carson, near Mesa Verde Drive East and Harbor Boulevard, they found tools that could potentially be used for burglary and more than 2,400 unrolled quarters in a bag, Sgt. Bryan Wadkins said.

Police continue to investigate whether the men were involved in Laundromat burglaries in Costa Mesa and Whittier.

Officers pulled the two men over for expired registration tags and discovered the two were wanted for drug- and alcohol-related warrants, Wadkins said.

When officers searched the car, they found screwdrivers that had been filed into possible lock-prying tools, and the bag of quarters.

“It probably weighed over 40 pounds,” Wadkins said.

— Joseph Serna