News Articles
Of Stolen ATMs
Thief Drives Into Store, Steals ATM
Owner Says Nothing Else Taken From Store
03/06/2003
 BOONVILLE,
Iowa - An ATM was stolen from the Booneville General
Store Thursday morning. The convenience store is popular with
many folks who live in and drive through Booneville in the
southeast corner of Dallas County. Authorities said the thief,
or thieves, got their hands on the ATM by driving a pickup
truck right through the side of the store. The store's owner,
Thomas Bos, said he received a call around 2:45 a.m. from
his security company, after the break-in set off alarms at
the store. Bos drove to the store and found the front side
of the building smashed in and the ATM that was bolted to
the floor inside the store missing.
 Tire
tracks in the snow and a license plate left at the scene indicated
someone drove through the wall and knocked the ATM loose,
then loaded it up and drove away. The license plate belongs
to a green 1999 Dodge pickup that was stolen from Des Moines
a couple of days ago. The store has significant damage, and
Bos said whoever stole the ATM knew exactly what they were
doing. "I think they were able to see it right inside
the building. The structure, it's a metal building, so I'm
sure that they've been in here and looked around quite a bit
to know it was that easy to do," Bos said. The ATM belonged
to the Waukee State Bank. There's no word yet on how much
money was inside. Bos said nothing else was taken from the
store. There's no video surveillance system in the store,
but Bos said he's been looking at installing one.
Police Search For 7 People Involved In ATM Robbery
5 Men Steal ATM, Machine Falls From Truck, 2 Other People
Pick It Up
12/23/2003
 Houston
- A smash-and-grab robbery at a north Houston gas station
early Tuesday morning has left the storefront in shambles,
an ATM missing, and robbers still on the loose. Employee Benzilo
Gomes said he called the police and his boss after the men
used a pickup to smash into the Shell gas station on Interstate
45 near West Parkway around 3:30 a.m. and steal an ATM. The
employee said he watched from behind the register as the robbers
loaded up the cash machine and took off. "Not even four
or five minutes. They lifted it so quickly," Gomes said.
As the robbers drove away and turned a corner, the machine
fell out of the bed of the truck onto the side of the road.
Officials believe a man and a woman in a van picked up the
machine. They believe the man and woman could be the newspaper
delivery workers for the area. Police found the stolen pickup
-- which happens to be a Houston Police Department officer's
vehicle -- abandoned on Interstate 45. Officials said the
officer was unaware that his vehicle had been stolen. The
seven people involved in the robbery of the cash machine are
being sought by officials. Several witnesses told officials
they saw a blue Econovan pick up the fallen cash machine.
 San
Antonio - Some ATM burglary suspects managed to escape
police following a chase early Monday on the city's Northeast
Side. Police said an alarm went off at a Food Mart on Perrin
Beitel and Greystone at 2 a.m. shortly after the suspects
backed a stolen Chevrolet Suburban into the store and loaded
an ATM into the back of the vehicle. With police still on
the way, two passers by spotted the suspects and gave chase.
"I took off after them, said Anthony Rodriguez. "Another
truck was in front of me chasing them. He lost them and I
stayed up with them 'til they got over there." The police
chase, which involved more than 20 officers, ended a few miles
from the store at Walzem Road and Cross Creek. But by the
time police arrived, the suspects had abandoned the Suburban
and the ATM. Police officials said this is the closest they've
come to catching the suspects, who are believed to be involved
in a rash of similar robberies.
27th ATM theft reported in west-central Illinois
WILLIAMSFIELD (AP) - Authorities in west-central
Illinois are investigating yet another automatic teller machine
theft. The ATM theft this week is the 27th reported since
October in Knox, Mercer, Henry, Peoria, Fulton and McDonough
counties. The Knox County Sheriff's Department says an alarm
was set off at the Travelers Mart in Williamsfield early Monday.
Deputies found the business' door off its hinges and its ATM
ripped from the floor where it was attached with bolts.
A sheriff's deputy later discovered a stolen pick-up truck
abandoned along a Knox County highway that appeared to have
parts of an ATM inside it, but its safe was ripped out. No
arrests have been made in the thefts, and officials are asking
anyone with information to contact the Galesburg-area Crime
stoppers.
Thieves make off with whole ATM
Chronicle Staff Report
02/01/2002
ATM crimes are not uncommon but thieves may be taking a new
tack: taking the whole machine instead of just robbing an
individual user. "This seems to be going on more,"
Dublin police Lt. John Hardester said today after a machine
was stolen in his town. "We know of one in the (Alameda
County) sheriff's jurisdiction and we've heard of some others
in the area. We're calling other agencies to check it out."
The Dublin theft came at about 12:30 a.m. today at a convenience
store near the intersection of Dougherty Road and Dublin Boulevard.
"We got the alarm and we were there in five minutes,
but the suspect and the ATM machine were gone," Hardester
said. "It appeared that the suspect used a large vehicle
to crash into the business. The vehicle was gone. The front
door was smashed. As a matter of fact, much of the front of
the building was smashed. The ATM was removed." He would
not say how much money was in the machine. Hardester said
the suspect vehicle may be a large white van, probably with
extensive front end damage.
ATM Thefts
01/30/2002
Mukwonago police say they found a mangled bank machine in
a secluded campground a few miles from the gas station where
it was stolen. Employees of the Village Pumper say the owner
had another bank machine taken from his gas station in Eagle
as well. A Waukesha County detective said those burglaries
may be connected to more than a dozen others in southeast
Wisconsin. If you have information on any of the ATM thefts,
you're urged to call the Waukesha County Crime Stoppers at
1-888-441-5505. If your information leads to an arrest, you'll
be eligible for a cash reward.
Conyers man arrested in ATM thefts
David Simpson
07/27/2004
A man with experience operating heavy equipment has been
charged in metro Atlanta's recent rash of automated teller
machine thefts. Conyers police said James Glenn Henderson,
45, was arrested at the home of his estranged wife in Conyers
early Monday. A Conyers bank was among at least seven targeted
since June 18 by a thief or thieves who used stolen heavy
equipment to pry ATMs out of bank buildings. Four other cases
occurred in Gwinnett County and one each in Atlanta and Alpharetta.
Conyers police Capt. David Spann said it was unlikely the
thefts were carried out by a single person, but investigators
had not yet confirmed that others were involved. Henderson
was arrested with a stolen vehicle, but no money was recovered,
Spann said. He said authorities have not yet determined whether
anyone ever got the ATMs open to steal cash. Spann said Henderson
would be charged with theft by taking in Suwanee and Conyers
in which ATMs were pried out of bank buildings. FBI spokesman
Steve Lazarus said federal authorities were considering whether
to bring charges against Henderson. Spann said investigators
got a tip that Henderson might have been involved and checked
his work experience. "He did have a background in construction
and heavy equipment operation," he said. He was arrested
without incident. The thefts began June 18, when someone stole
a bulldozer from a construction site and used it to yank an
automated teller machine off its base at the Homestate Bank
on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Suwanee. Surveillance
video shows the crook put on a hard hat first.In the second
incident, a forklift was used to knock down an ATM at a SouthTrust
bank on Dogwood Drive in Conyers on June 24. An ATM stolen
July 19 from a Wachovia branch in Buckhead brought to seven
the number taken in metro Atlanta in the past five weeks.
Bandits Steal ATM from Store
Kevin Rowson
Two masked bandits went into a DeKalb County convenience
store and stole an ATM. The bandits lifted it and carried
it right out of the store. It was all caught on video tape.
The masked men broke into the Citgo convenience store on Johnson
Ferry Road Monday morning. One of the burglars used what appears
to be a crowbar and pries open the stores door. Once inside,
the burglars head right to their target -- the ATM. The men
ripped that machine from the wall and carried it out of the
store. Once outside, the men struggle to get the machine in
the back of an SUV. It appears that some adjustments have
to be made by folding up the middle seat. The owner of the
Citgo station thinks there might have been between $5,000
and $10,000 in the ATM. This is not a new type of crime. Convenience
store ATMs have been lifted before. In July 2004, 45-year-old
James Henderson was arrested by Conyers, Ga., police after
being connected to six ATM heists from banks. Police said
Henderson stole backhoes from construction sites to lift bank
ATMs off their moorings. The owner of the convenience store
didn't want to be on camera, but said this is the fourth time
his store has been broken into in the past month and a half.
He thinks he may recognize the two men from earlier surveillance
tapes when they smashed his windows, but were scared away
when the alarm went off.
Ram raid ATM thefts in Ill. appear to be linked
ATM Market Place.com
GALESBURG, Ill. — Authorities in central
and west-central Illinois believe that a spate of recent ATM
thefts are related. According to an Associated Press report,
the Knox County Sheriff's Department is investigating a string
of 15 thefts in which ATMs have been dragged from businesses
in rural communities. Knox County Sheriff's Detective Nick
Carlson said five ATMs have turned up missing in Knox County.
ATMs have also disappeared in Rock Island, Henry, McDonough
and Peoria counties since November. "They're using a
stolen pickup and actually pulling machines from the business
using a chain or a cable or something," said Keith Pickard,
also a detective with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.
One machine, with its sides bashed in, has been recovered.
ATM thieves getting bolder
ATM Market Place.com
04/08/2004
BRIMFIELD, Ill. — In a single 48-hour
stretch, ATM thieves hit the village of Brimfield not once
but twice. The suspects took off with cash machines from two
different Brimfield businesses located within a block of each
other, according to a WHOI report. Thieves got away with the
ATM at Jim's Supermarket in the early morning hours of April
4. The ATM contained $800. “They know what they are
doing, they come in and do it, and it only takes three minutes
to do,” said Barb Mckown of Jim’s Supermarket.
Then around 2:30 a.m. on April 6, an ATM was stolen from Brimfield
Bank. The same thieves may have been involved in the attempted
theft of an ATM from a Cuba, Ill., gas station, also over
the April 5 weekend, according to a report in the Fulton County
Daily Ledger. According to the Ledger, suspects removed an
ATM from a T-Mart station and loaded it into a stolen truck
-- but the machine apparently fell out of the truck while
they were trying to get away. Police said a truck was stolen
from the driveway of Fairview, Ill., residence. Police believe
the Brimfield and Cuba cases may be related to a string of
ATM thefts throughout several Illinois counties, including
Peoria, Knox, Rock Island, Henry and McDonough counties.
ATM Theft Suspects Arrested
Jeff Cresswell
03/05/2004
Police have made two arrests in a rash of ATM robberies.
20-year old Steven Russell and 25-year old Todd Schweitzer
of Abbotsford face charges and police say they're looking
for two more men. Police believe the group was busting into
gas stations and convenience stores around the Lower Mainland.
They'd chain the ATM to their car, rip it out of the ground
and bust it open later. Police think they hit several stores
and hauled in around $25,000 every time.
Three area men accused of ATM theft in Firth
Debbie Bryce
Three Bingham County men were arrested and charged Thursday
in connection with an ATM burglary at Potelco United Credit
Union in Firth and more than $9,000 was recovered. Bingham
County Sheriff Dave Johnson said Willie Bridges and Moises
Santos, both 21, are charged with burglary, grand theft and
felony malicious injury to property. Jacob Hansen, 34, is
charged with grand theft and felony malicious injury to property.
Combined detective units from the Bingham County Sheriff's
Office and Blackfoot police, assisted by the FBI, investigated
the incident which occurred Feb. 16. "This has been an
excellent move bringing these (detective) forces together
and increasing our resources," he said. Johnson said
Santos abandoned his vehicle on the Firth river bottoms where
police believe the ATM was loaded into Bridges' truck after
being pulled from the foundation with a chain. A resident
in Firth found a piece of the chain used to free the ATM and
turned it over to the police, Johnson said. Officers recovered
additional pieces at the credit union. Johnson said an alarm
system was activated when the ATM was pulled from the base
and he estimates officers were on the scene within about 10
minutes. Police believe Bridges and Santos took the ATM machine
to Hansen's residence following the burglary and the three
men used a cutting torch to open it. They then divided the
money equally between them. Bingham County Detective Brad
Bench traced the pickup truck to Santos and after reviewing
video footage of the crime, officers interviewed him. Santos
allegedly confessed to the crime and implicated Bridges and
Hansen, Johnson said. Blackfoot Detective Paul Newbold, the
lead investigator on the case, said Bridges is currently in
Blackfoot on leave from the U.S. Air Force. Newbold said Bridges
and Santos have no prior record, but Hansen has been charged
with burglary in the past. He said the men had been planning
the burglary for about a month prior to executing it. Bridges
and Santos graduated from Firth High School. Firth Mayor Mike
Kress, who is also the school's principal, said they are his
former students. Johnson said Hansen is Santos' brother-in-law.
Potelco President Brian Osberg said the ATM valued at $15,000
was destroyed. But he added that personal account information
was not compromised in the theft. Osberg said the ATM will
be replaced and he believes existing security measure are
adequate. "If a burglar wants the ATM, their going to
get it," he said. Osberg said $18,260 was stolen and
$9,580 has been recovered. All three men are being held at
the Bingham County Jail. Bail was set at $50,000 each. Johnson
said federal charges may also be filed. If convicted on all
counts the men face a minimum of 20 years in prison.
Former ATM technician held in string of thefts. Two
other men also charged with stealing cash machines.
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
04/19/2005
A former technician for a San Francisco company that leases
automated teller machines led a ring suspected of swiping
seven ATMs out of their perches in walls across the city,
police said Monday. "You would have to have inside knowledge
in order to attempt something like this and get away so cleanly,"
Lt. Thomas Buckley of the police burglary detail said of the
suspects in the string of crimes that began Feb. 7. "They
were thwarting the internal security measures taken by the
company." The estimated loss from the stolen machines
and the cash in them is more than $100,000. Three men were
arrested last week and charged with crimes in connection with
three of the seven thefts. The leader of the ring, authorities
say, was 22-year-old Ryan Juan, a former technician for the
operators of the leased machines, Swipe USA. Authorities say
the company fired Juan in January for theft. Company officials
declined to comment. Juan's brother, who still works as a
technician at the company, was interviewed by police last
week but is not a suspect, Buckley said. Juan and two other
men, Nestor Reyes, 29, and Cameron Lang, 23, were charged
last week with two burglaries. On Monday they were charged
with the Feb. 24 robbery and kidnapping of a Mission Street
liquor store owner, whom they allegedly forced to open his
locked store so they could steal an ATM. "They tried
to get into the building -- when they couldn't get in, they
waited for the owner to show up," said Inspector Michael
Dudoroff of the robbery detail. "When the owner got there,
they forced him in, tied him up and put duct tape over his
eyes." In addition to the liquor store, ATMs have been
stolen from a parking garage on O'Farrell Street, a dry cleaner,
a bar, and most recently Thursday from the Javalencia Cafe
on Valencia Street. In each case, police say, the thieves
would break into a business where a machine was mounted on
an outside wall. They would defeat internal security systems,
unscrew the 1 1/2 by 3 foot, 150-pound machine and carry it
away. Because of a company security glitch that authorities
would rather not describe, investigators had no way of tracking
the devices once they were stolen. That problem was fixed
recently -- when the ATM disappeared last week from the Javalencia
Cafe, a transmitter in the machine was activated and the stolen
machine, along with thousands in cash, was found in a garage
in Pacifica an hour after it was stolen. Police say Juan once
lived at the house with a woman who still lives there. She
denied knowing anything about the thefts. Juan and Lang were
arrested at the house and Reyes was later arrested at his
home in San Francisco. Bail was set at $500,000 and the suspects
are to be arraigned as soon as today. Buckley thanked the
efforts of the robbery detail as well as Daly City and Pacifica
police for their assistance. "It was a true team effort,"
he said.
Man held in ATM thefts. He faces charges in several
areas.
Jennifer Brevorka
The first clue came in the form of an automated teller machine
hacked into by a saw and dumped near an Apex apartment complex
Feb. 5, authorities said. A second clue materialized the next
day, when another ATM --bruised, battered and cash-free, like
the first -- was found in the same spot. On Wednesday, the
cash machine mystery apparently ended when an RBC Center security
guard called Raleigh police after he saw a man running from
an ATM that had been partially pried open. Raleigh police
have charged Eugene Cameron Flint, 22, of 1818 Gorman St.
with breaking and entering at the RBC Center. The arrest Wednesday
led officials to charge him with three other ATM-related crimes.
The security guard noticed a man lurking inside the empty
RBC Center about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Jim Sughrue, police
spokesman. The man had entered the center by smashing a 3-foot-by-2-foot
glass window, Sughrue said. Once inside, the man went to work,
trying to pry open an ATM with a crowbar. "Apparently
as the guard approached, he saw the suspect running,"
Sughrue said. "[The man] had to abort the crime before
he got the cash." The guard called police, who descended
on the arena in cruisers and boxed in a 2000 Chrysler Cirrus,
Sughrue said. When the driver realized he was trapped, he
ran into woods. Police quickly followed and caught him. Soon
after his arrest Wednesday, Flint confessed to other crimes,
including two recent ATM thefts in Chapel Hill, said Detective
T.H. Kerley of the Apex Police Department. He was charged
with possession of stolen goods in connection with the Chapel
Hill thefts, according to arrest warrants. Police said the
ATMs found in Apex were from Carmichael Auditorium at UNC-Chapel
Hill and Bruegger's Bagel Bakery in the Eastgate Shopping
Center in Chapel Hill. During the theft Feb. 6 at Bruegger's,
a thief used a hammer to smash the restaurant's glass door,
according to police reports. He then cut power lines, cables
and bolts from the floor before taking an ATM valued at $7,000.
A hammer was left behind. It is not clear how much cash was
inside each machine. Flint told detectives he worked alone,
Kerley said. Investigators think Flint dragged the ATM into
a Jeep after prying the 4-foot, 300-pound computerized mass
of metal from a floor. The motivation for heavy lifting was
simple. "He said he needed the money," Kerley said.
Flint drove to Apex and dumped the machines near a side street
behind a Kroger supermarket on U.S. 64, Kerley said. A resident
at a nearby apartment complex called police after spotting
a deserted ATM. Apex police also charged Flint in connection
with the attempted theft of an ATM on Friday, according to
arrest warrants. In that incident, Kerley said, a man tried
to pry an ATM off the floor of a mini-mart but ran away when
he was frightened by noises. When Cary police learned of Flint's
arrest, they arrested him on one count of breaking and entering,
according to arrest warrants. Investigators think Flint broke
into a gas station at 2700 Regency Parkway and fled without
stealing anything after alarms sounded, said Capt. Dave Wulff.
Late Wednesday, Flint faced two counts of felony possession
of stolen property and three counts of felony breaking and
entering, according to court records. He was being held at
the Wake County jail in lieu of $28,000 bail. Earlier this
week, two other free-standing ATMs were stolen from the UNC-CH
campus. Police have said they think the machines taken from
the Smith Center were an isolated incident. But campus officials
are talking with Raleigh investigators about Flint, said Randy
Young, a UNC-CH police spokesman.
The News Herald
Police dodge flying ATM, net suspects
MIKE CAZALAS
U-Haul. U-steal. U-throw a stolen ATM machine at deputies.
U-go to jail. Bay County sheriff's deputies had three people
in custody Monday and were seeking a fourth as they attempted
to untangle a series of crimes Sunday and Monday that would
make a fine episode of Cops had it been captured on videotape.
At the least, the crimes involved a stolen truck, a stolen
U-Haul, the "snatching" of an ATM machine, a high-speed
chase and construction barrels (and one ATM machine) flying
through the air. At best, investigators believe a passerby's
tip that a U-Haul was backed up to a small store on U.S.231
may have led to the capture of people responsible for a string
of ATM thefts across the Southeast. "We believe we have
made a bigger hit than we thought we had made at first,"
said Sheriff's Office Lt. Jerry Girvin. "Apparently this
group has made a mini career out of working the Eastern Seaboard
and ripping off ATM machines." In custody Monday were
Steven Robert Collins,39, Wende Lorraine McCormick, 26, and
her brother Jerry Carl McCormick, 38. Each is charged with
one count of burglary, but Girvin said more charges are pending.
Deputies also are looking for Caroline T. Furness,35, who
is suspected of driving a van that attempted to block deputies
chasing the stolen U-Haul. Authorities believe Collins is
from South Carolina while Wende McCormick is from Central
Florida. Jerry McCormick gave deputies a fake name and was
carrying identification saying his name was Jartev Emery.
"We have determined they have hit a number of these ATMs
and we have an inquiry out to
departments all over Florida and the East Coast asking if
they have had any similar crimes," Girvin said. "We
believe we're going to tie them in with a number of ATM burglaries."
Monday's theatrics began around 3 a.m. when a motorist called
the Sheriff's Office to report that a U-Haul was backed up
to Garner's Food Mart on U.S. 231. The motorist believed it
might be a burglary in process. Deputies found that someone
had broken the glass door, wrapped a chain around a recently
installed ATM machine and used the U-Haul to yank it out of
the wall. The ATM machine, deputies would soon discover, was
placed in the back of the U-Haul. Deputies spotted the U-Haul
on U.S. 231 and attempted, unsuccessfully, to stop it. "One
of the officers kept trying to get in front of the truck but
he couldn't do it because there was a van behind the truck
swinging in and out to block him," Girvin said. "The
chase went up 231 and down 231 and around some of the side
roads and up 231 again. "The truck started hitting those
large plastic construction drums; he was deliberately hitting
some and they were spinning back and the patrol cars were
playing dodge'em with those things," he continued. "Somewhere
around Linger Longer Road they shoved the ATM out of the back
of the truck and it almost hit the officer's car. And, of
course, he had to stop and get it out of the road so it wouldn't
endanger any motorists." While deputies moved the ATM
machine, the driver of the U-Haul turned off the vehicle's
lights and it disappeared. Girvin said Monday that it was
unclear who was in the back of the U-Haul, but that it was
one of the male suspects. And he said tossing something as
large and as heavy as an ATM machine at another vehicle is
a serious matter. "It was thrown off the truck at about
70 mph," he said. "The officer that was in pursuit
said the first thing he knew there was a big flash of sparks
in front of him and an ATM hit the pavement. It was dark and
rainy and miserable and terrible out. If you would've hit
that you could do a lot of damage and possibly be injured."
Deputies continued their search and found the U-Haul abandoned
about one-half mile east of U.S.231 off State 20 near WJHG's
broadcast tower. Deputies set up a perimeter of sorts and
waited. The weather was on their side. "About 7 a.m.
a citizen called from the 231 plaza (near State 20) and said
a man and a woman had come out of the woods and across the
road and were all wet and miserable looking," Girvin
said. "Tom Hedges and another deputy went up there and
after a very brief conversation determined they were the suspects
and arrested them." Girvin said the two were taken to
the Sheriff's Office for interviews and investigators learned
there were still one or two suspects on the loose. "About
9 in the morning one of our deputies, Jimmy Ammons, was sitting
in his patrol car at the 231 Plaza and observed a man coming
out of the woods and starting across 231," he said. "Ammons
encountered him and arrested him."
Deputies are still searching for the van that ran interference
during the chase. It is described as a 1983 maroon and silver
Chevrolet. What investigators have learned from interviews
and evidence, Girvin said, is that the foursome arrived in
town with a van and a stolen pickup truck. The truck was abandoned
somewhere in the beaches area prior to the ATM theft and has
not yet been recovered. They stole a U-Haul from Back Beach
Texaco to use in the ATM theft, he said. "Apparently
their (method of operation) is to steal a truck like that
and snatch the ATM and then abandon the stolen vehicle in
the near area and leave in the little van," Girvin said.
Girvin said charges are pending as investigators work to figure
out just how many and what crimes were committed.
DOWNEY, Calif. - Police are looking for
two suspects who crashed a stolen truck into a Downey convenience
store early Tuesday morning, and made off with an ATM. The
suspects crashed into the storefront in the 10800 block of
Studebaker Road around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. Store owner Ranjit
Sohd said some one crashed into his storefront a year ago,
but it was an accident. The store closed at 11 p.m. Monday
night. The store's security cameras are focused on the door
and cash register and may not have useful information, according
to NBC4. Police will look at the security tape. Authorities
said the suspects made a quick getaway. Sgt. Dean Milligan
said police located the abandoned truck a few blocks away
shortly after the incident. Police said the engine was still
running when they found the truck. The truck's registered
owner said he left the vehicle parked outside in his driveway.
The suspects and the ATM are still missing.
Sports club cash machine stolen.
A cash machine was stolen from a bowling complex in Sussex
in the early hours of the morning.
Sussex Police said the ATM was taken from the David Lloyd
Bowling Centre in Broadwater Way, Eastbourne, at about 0200
BST on Friday. They think a blue Ford Fiesta set alight in
a car park in Framfield Way in Eastbourne on Friday night
may have been used at some point in the theft. Seven ATMs
in Kent and now three in Sussex have been stolen since December.
Police said the cash machine was stolen from the bowling centre's
entrance hall and that at least two people would have been
needed to move it, possibly using a van or a 4x4 vehicle.
It is not known how much money was in it. The Ford Fiesta,
registration number M37 ONF, was set alight at about 2145
BST and detectives said they wanted to trace a couple in their
early 20s who reported the fire to local residents and may
have seen the offenders run away. They said they were in a
dark-coloured Audi and that the man had short blond hair and
possibly a South African accent. In some of the recent previous
raids in the South East thieves have used heavy machinery
such as mechanical diggers to steal the cash machines from
shops or banks during the night. Sussex Police said they were
liaising with officers in Kent and sharing information but
they did not think the Eastbourne incident was connected to
the Kent offences.
Man convicted in string of ATM thefts
04/30/2005
A 31-year-old Seaside man who used a torch or pry bar to
steal cash from ATMs last year pleaded guilty Friday to numerous
charges. Jeremy Davis pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of
burglary, three felony counts of receiving stolen property,
three counts of felony grand theft, five counts of felony
vandalism, felony possession of methamphetamine for sale,
possession of burglars tools and resisting arrest. Davis admitted
to breaking into nine machines on the Peninsula between May
and October last year, the Monterey County District Attorney's
Office reported. He targeted an ATM in tourist areas and used
a torch or pry bar to gain access to the cash. He was arrested
after police saw him attempting to cut his way through the
floor of a bank to get close to the rear of an ATM. Investigators
later discovered methamphetamine and numerous stolen items
in his home and a storage locker he rented. Davis stole $87,300
from the ATMs and caused about $60,400 damage to them, authorities
said. He was also found to be in possession of $97,000 worth
of stolen property. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June
7.
NEW YORK POST
ATM CRIME WAVE
LARRY CELONA
Lower Manhattan has been hit by a new wave of ATM thefts
— with at least 16 cash machines being ripped off in
only the first three months of the year. There has been one
arrest so far in this year's crime spree. A similar string
of thefts last year tapered off after three members of a rip-off
ring were collared. The new crime spree is either the work
of last year's gang — reconstituted with new members
— or a copycat crew making its own mark, investigators
said yesterday. Clarence Jones, 24, of Manhattan, was arrested
last month and charged with burglary several days after a
delicatessen heist at 42 Grand St., where the store's locks
were cut and cash stolen from the ATM. Detectives are searching
for clues that could tie Jones to other robberies or suspects,
police said. The latest wave of ATM thefts has been carried
out by a group that appears to be more patient than the earlier
crew of thieves, investigators said. Instead of stealing the
ATMs, removing the cash and dumping the machines somewhere,
the crooks are opening the machines and taking the cash on
the spot, an operation that takes more time. The thieves have
hit cash machines in grocery stores, restaurants, delis and
a check-cashing business. More than 20 machines were carted
away from convenience stores and sandwich shops last year.
The machines — usually bolted to the floor — were
filled with $4,000 to $22,000 in cash. In two of the earlier
cases, cops found suspicious black vans near the scenes of
the burglaries. Cops thought the vans could have been used
to cart away the heavy machines. Police also suspected that
several people were involved in each robbery because the machines
weigh close to 350 pounds. But with more thefts being carried
out on location, cops aren't even sure if they're looking
for a gang or individual thieves. In some cases, the thieves
simply broke open a metal gate and walked in through the front
door.
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