Alleged underwear thief is nabbed at Cleveland laundromat

CLEVELAND - Customers of a Cleveland laundromat can breathe easier following the arrest of a man police say was stealing underwear brought in to be washed.

Jonah Locke, 41, of Cleveland, had been warned to stay away from the laundromat at 2029 Murray Hill after customers complained about him, according to Cleveland Police Commander Patrick Stephens.

"He'd been accused by some of the customers of taking their clothes, taking photos of the folks while they're in there doing their laundry, and of also touching himself in a sexual manner while he was in the laundromat," Stephens said. When asked what types of clothes he was taking Stephens said, "Apparently it's women's undergarments."

"I thought maybe I had been careless and left it in the machine. Came back and never found it," said Becca Rhoades, who was at the laundromat Wednesday evening.

Locke was arrested for criminal trespass, and it's not his first brush with the law. He pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition in 1996 and is a registered sex offender.

When police arrested Locke at the laundromat, he told them he was there to buy a soda from the vending machine.

Stephens said the arrest was made because the patrons at the laundromat were vigilant.

"They were paying attention, not only to what they were bringing to the laundromat and taking home or not taking home, but to his whereabouts," he said. "We cannot police America and we can't police this city without the vigilance of our taxpayers and our citizens."

To find out if there are any sex offenders in your area, you can search the state of Ohio's database http://5.wews.com/9dd