GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Two Mukwonago men who went on a crime spree seemingly inspired by the old "Dukes of Hazzard" television show were charged with theft in the Green Bay division of U.S. district court on Sept. 5, according to a report in the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette.
Jarred Dillaber, 27, and Joseph Boothe, 29, are accused in a four-count indictment of allegedly lashing ATMs to the back of their pickup and hauling them out into the country to break them open and remove cash.
The two traveled through nine Wisconsin counties and one Illinois county, set barns on fire to divert police and then hauled or tried to haul ATMs out of stores and gas stations, according to the indictment. They used stolen cash to rent additional trucks or buy saw blades to help them commit additional crimes, the indictment says.
Also according to the indictment:
The crime spree began in December, when the pair stole a truck from the Waukesha County Parks Department and used it to haul an ATM from the Waukesha Expo Center. They broke open the machine, removed about $6,000, then dumped the empty ATM into a lake in nearby Jefferson County.
They failed in three more attempts to steal ATMs in December before getting a machine from a Waukesha County service station. They took about $4,800 from the machine and caused about $6,000 damage to it, the complaint says.
In January they got $13,000 from a machine they stole from a movie theater in New Berlin. Also in January, they hit upon the idea of setting a barn on fire in Mukwonago to create a distraction while they tried to steal one ATM and successfully stole another from a gas station. They also took three ATMs from two movie theaters and a restaurant.
In February, they burned a barn in Harvard, Ill., and stole an ATM, which they took back to Wisconsin. They also burned a barn in Lomira, then tried to steal an ATM from a gas station. But the machine was bolted to the floor, and as the two tried to remove it with a rented pickup truck, the tow strap broke. They instead broke into a bank in rural Fond du Lac County and tried to break into drawers.
After failing to find money, they broke into a Fond du Lac gas station and dragged an ATM away. They pried it open, causing $6,500 damage and getting $3,360 from it.
On March 12, they stole two ATMs and a safe in Iron County, where they were finally apprehended by police.
If convicted, they each face up to 55 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.
Both men pleaded not guilty and were scheduled for trial Nov. 18. A pre-trial hearing will be held Nov. 7.
