RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. -- Thieves driving a stolen truck rammed free an automated teller machine at a shopping center early June 11, 2003, then stole the bulky machine, the Orange County Sheriff's Department reported.
It's the latest of about a dozen ATM break-ins that have occurred in recent months across Southern California, sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said. But this was the only incident in which a truck was used to batter an ATM, according to a story in the Orange County Register. The stolen machine belongs to South County Bank.
Amormino said there's nothing so far that links this latest incident to any prior ATM thefts. A Blockbuster customer returning a video about 2:30 a.m. called police to report the crime. Responding officers found the foundation of the ATM and a pickup, stolen a few hours earlier from Irvine, with front-end damage and it's engine running, the article said.
Amormino said investigators believed at least two men moved the ATM, containing a "substantial" amount of cash, into another vehicle and fled, according to the article.
