STRATEGIC PARTNERS
A thief who made off with an ATM as a surveillance camera captured it all on film was "not a rocket scientist," Las Vegas police said.by Ann All, editor
April 10, 2000
Here's another one for the "Stupid ATM crimes" file. According to police reports, a thief trying to make off with an ATM at a golf center in Las Vegas apparently didn't realize he was on camera as he rocked the machine back and forth. When the man spied the surveillance camera, he backed away from the machine and entered the frame about 15 seconds later -- this time with his face obscured by the hood of his jacket. "This guy was not a rocket scientist," Metro Police Detective Alan Hepp said in a Las Vegas Sun story about the incident. According to police, an unseen accomplice then helped the not-so-cleverly disguised man dislodge the free-standing ATM from the bolts holding it to the floor and drag it away. If this caper is typical of other ATM thefts, it may not pay. According to Hepp, it's not uncommon for thieves to abandon machines that are still loaded with cash when they are unable to break into the vault. But the stolen machine from the golf center hasn't shown up yet, Hepp said. Police are continuing to investigate. "(The thieves) may not have known how difficult it is to open it," Hepp told the Sun. "They may still be trying to get it open. Like I said, they weren't rocket scientists."
