FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The theft of a freestanding, 900-pound ATM from Crown Coliseum over the Aug. 9 weekend may be linked to similar thefts at other arenas in the area.
According to a report in the Fayetteville Observer, thieves left dangling wires, holes in the floor and an open door when they removed the First Citizens Bank ATM, which contained about $111,000. The machine had been bolted to the floor in the main concourse three or four weeks before it was taken, Crown Coliseum officials said.
Authorities believe that whomever took the ATM might have used a dolly. It would have taken at least two people to move the machine. Wires and metal tubing that were connected to the machine had been removed, and the floor was scraped, leaving holes where the bolts had been.
Crown spokeswoman Mary Ann Panek said the ATM was placed in the concourse for a special event in July. At the time, it was not bolted to the floor.
Panek said that after coliseum CEO Rick Reno learned of a similar theft at the Charlotte Coliseum several weeks ago, he contacted First Citizens and law enforcement officials. "The bank sent people out and bolted the unit to the floor," she said.
Sporty Jeralds, who manages the Charlotte Coliseum, said a First Union ATM was taken from the coliseum in February. Jeralds said he called Crown officials about a month ago and shared information about the Charlotte theft and others in Raleigh, Greensboro and Winston-Salem.
"I called them once I saw that pattern," Jeralds said.
According to the Observer, sheriff's detectives are working the case with the FBI; they are trying to determine whether the theft at the Crown and thefts at other arenas are related.
