SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho found probable cause to charge Dino Mettao with theft.
Mettao, 33, and co-defendant George Grover, 33, are accused of stealing a coin machine changer at Fresh Laundry in San Vicente on Aug. 28, 2024. The incident was captured by the establishment’s surveillance camera.
According to DPS, it was Mettao who carried the coin machine changer out of Fresh Laundry while Grover was the driver of the getaway vehicle, which he owns.
Police Lt. Catherine Pangelinan said when they executed a search warrant at Grover’s apartment, she saw an e-bike that had been reported stolen in a separate incident she was investigating.
She said inside the apartment were the metal coin box and bill acceptor from Fresh Laundry’s coin machine changer.
Pangelinan said Grover admitted that he was with Mettao during the burglary and theft incident at Fresh Laundry.
The Fresh Laundry operator told DPS that the coin machine changer could hold up to $3,000. He said the last time he checked the machine before it was stolen, “it was almost full.”
At a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 2, Mettao was represented by Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig while Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas appeared for the government.
Judge Camacho denied Mettao’s motion for bail modification.
Grover, represented by attorney Robert Torres, waived his preliminary hearing.
Both defendants were remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections, and are scheduled to appear before Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja for an arraignment on Oct. 7 at 9 a.m.
