Swansea, SC (Paul Kirby) – A Swansea police officer took to social media Thursday to thank community members for their help identifying a thief. In their post, officers also gave the now identified thief an ultimatum that would require him to “man up” and face the consequences of his actions by turning himself in.
With the help of tips from the community, Amos Lee Albertson has been identified as the man that was caught on video stealing from a vending machine in a coin laundry. Albertson can be seen breaking into a machine that regularly brightens children’s days by dispensing bright colored Easter Eggs with small prizes in them. One police officer said, “When a child has to come to the coin laundry with a parent or grandparent they often are just waiting, and they get bored and cranky. These little eggs cost a guardian a little pocket change but sometimes that's all a child needs to make their day better.”
Swansea Police Department officials said Thursday afternoon that even though what Albertson had done was an affront to the most vulnerable citizens of Swansea, its young children, he could make things better by coming forward and doing the right thing. A Swansea PD Facebook post made it clear that Albertson could get a bit of a break if he made the correct decision.
Instructions for the despicable petty thief were clear. “Amos Lee Albertson, you have until Saturday at midnight to contact Sergeant Stone in reference to this incident. Failure to do so will result in arrest warrants being issued for you,” the post read. “Amos, ball is in your court,” it concluded. Now, it remains to be seen how mature Albertson will be after he has been exposed by a disgusted community that’s tired of being preyed on.
Officers reiterated on social media what they have said many times before. They were working to uphold the laws of the Town of Swansea and the state of South Carolina no matter how petty a crime might be. “Even if you just steal a few dollars in change, that hurts the person you stole it from. Albertson forced open this machine resulting in damages that will cost much more than the change he took,” one officer said. “The fact is everything belongs to someone and if you take it without their permission it's stealing, and our job is to catch thieves who steal.”
