American Legion in Newton burglarized on Christmas Day

Two individuals in the early hours of Christas morning broke into the American Legion Post 111 in Newton and burglarized the slot machines in the bar area, presumably stealing hundreds of dollars in the process. Post Commander Jerry Nelson said the machines and the door were damaged in the process.

“Oh, hell,” Nelson said in a phone call with Newton News. “You don’t want to get that call on a Christmas morning. Or any morning. But we got ADT and it’s a newer system. They called us almost immediately and called the cops almost immediately. They were probably in and out of there in five minutes or less.”

Security camera footage shows the two criminals arriving to the American Legion at around 5 a.m. They were masks and hoodies to obscure their faces. One used a crowbar to enter the south doorway. Nelson said the license plates on their truck were initially unidentifiable from the footage.

“It was just really odd,” he said.

Nelson estimates $500 was stolen from the machines. No money was stolen from the bar. The American Legion Post 111 at 1101 W. Fourth St. S. is still open for business. Nelson said the bar was actually open on Christmas Day at 4 p.m. Staff had to temporarily secure the door until it could be fixed at a later date.