Daring ATM thief hits Boston-area c-store

Daring ATM thief hits Boston-area c-store
Tags: Security
January 30, 2003

CHARLESTOWN, Mass. -- A thief dragged an armored car guard to the ground, stole his gun and threatened to kill onlookers before taking off with $70,000 in an afternoon heist in Charlestown on Jan. 30, according to a Boston Herald report.

"He told us, `If you make a move, you'll never see your kids or families again,' ' a shaken Helen Donnaruma recalled of the noontime ripoff at the Store 24 convenience store.

Donnaruma, who was working behind the cash register, said she thought the thief was "fooling' when he pulled out a gun and approached the Loomis Fargo guard inside the store. The guard was filling the Citizens Bank ATM with $70,000 in $20 bills, as he does every week, Donnaruma said.

As the guard unlocked the ATM, the thief grabbed him from behind and pulled him to the ground. The guard fell on his side and went for his gun but the robber snatched it away.

"He was starting to pull it out of his holster and the kid grabbed it,' Donnaruma told the Herald.

Donnaruma said the robber had the gun aimed on the guard while he scanned the store, shouting at Donnaruma, another employee and two male customers.

"He kept yelling at (the guard) to lay down,' she recalled. "(He said) `Don't move. I'm not fooling.' '

The robber fled the store with the gun and the bag of cash. Police with dogs searched a nearby Boys and Girls Club, which is under construction, after a witness said she saw the robber run inside.

FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said the heist was captured on videotape and the images were being examined in an effort to identify the man. "The robbery was taped but the picture quality is not very good,' she said.

She would not comment on the amount of money taken.

The thief was described as a white male in his 20s wearing a tan jacket, denim jeans, a blue knit hat and blue-rimmed sunglasses.

Donnaruma, who has worked at the store for five years, said she's never heard of a robbery on the day shift, although there have been many nighttime holdups -- seven in the last year, according to police.