Phone Thefts Suspect Enters Not Guilty Plea

A man suspected of being the Coin Box Bandit, who officials say stole up to half a million dollars from pay telephones across the country, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to grand theft.

James Clark, 49, of Boston Heights, was extradited to Akron earlier this month after being arrested in Buena Park on Aug. 26 by FBI agents.

He pleaded innocent in Summit County Common Pleas court to five counts of tampering with coin machines, five counts of grand theft and two counts of receiving stolen property.

He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Sept. 27.

Authorities said Clark, a former machinist, developed a sophisticated device to unlock coin boxes on pay telephones. He is accused of raiding telephones all across the West and Southwest, beginning in Akron in 1985.

Losses to the telephone companies were estimated up to $500,000.

The Coin Box Bandit favored locales of major sporting events or other large gatherings where he could work phone boxes under the cover of large crowds, officials said.

The story of the bandit was featured twice on the Fox Television Network show, “America’s Most Wanted.”

Clark waived his right to fight extradition during a hearing Sept. 2 in Los Angeles and acknowledged that he is the man named in a November, 1985, arrest warrant issued in Akron.

His lawyer at the extradition hearing said Clark is eager to return to Ohio to get the matter resolved.

“He’s a very nice man,” said Paul Potter. “He realizes he’s in a great deal of trouble.”