NEW
BERN, NC (CNN) - A vending machine that eats your money can certainly be
frustrating, but a North Carolina woman may have taken the situation a step too
far.
The woman now faces felony charges for
getting revenge on the inanimate object.
Authorities say 43-year-old Debra Johnson was caught on camera
showcasing her pyrotechnique skills on a surveillance camera positioned in
front of a 7-Up vending machine outside a Piggly Wiggly.
It caught her.
Gilbert Crary couldn't believe what he saw when he showed up at work, later
that day.
"She went and got a newspaper, lit it on fire, and stuffed it inside the
machine," Crary recalled.
What made Johnson so mad that she had to take her frustration out on the
vending machine? Well, turns out the darn thing wouldn't give her her drink nor
would it give her her money back.
Store surveillance shows the woman kicking the machine.
She lights the fire, then grabs a drink from another vending machine and walks
away.
Minutes later, flames shoot out, melting all $35 worth of change and
whatever else was left inside.
Unlike the machine that took her money, Johnson didn't hold back during her
first appearance, telling the judge she didn't need a lawyer.
"I'll represent myself, 'cause I'm guilty," Johnson stated, "I don't need a lawyer to lie
for me, cause I'mma tell you I done it."
Waving her right to an attorney and refusing to pay the $10,000
bond, Johnson will get her chance to come clean again during her next court
appearance.
Johnson has several misdemeanors on her record, dating back
to 1989.
She now faces two felony charges: burning of personal property and burning of
certain buildings.
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