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Even more strange-but-true ATM news

The final installment of strange-but-true ATM news for 2004 includes a gang that broke into an ATM with a blowtorch but beat a hasty retreat when the cash went up in flames and two thieves who looked more than a little conspicuous making their getaways dragging ATMs chained to their vehicles.

January 3, 2005

Following are some of the strangest items recently encountered by this editor during her daily searches for ATM-related news. ATMmarketplace collects these odd stories and publishes them on a regular basis in hopes of tickling our readers' funny bones. For more of the same, seeUnlucky in ATM crime, Strange-but-true ATM news and More strange-but-true ATM news)

Two-time losers: A couple of would-be ATM thieves in Montgomery County, Texas, ended up two-time losers.

According to a report in The Villager newspaper, Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies on Oct. 20 discovered a heavily damaged ATM that had been pulled away from its base.at a Southwest Bank of Texas branch.

The perpetrators had used a pickup truck and a chain wrapped around the machine to remove it from the base -- but didn't get any cash, according to Lt. Dan Norris.

Later that evening, a similar incident occurred at a nearby Washington Mutual Bank branch. When the perpetrators attempted to use the vehicle to pull the machine from its base, the rear axle of the vehicle broke, according to the Sheriff's Department report. They abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.

The vehicle had been reported stolen Sept. 23. Surveillance photos from both banks suggest that both incidents were perpetrated by the same people, Norris said.

Up in smoke: Bungling thieves used a blowtorch to cut their way into an ATM near Worcester, UK -- and then set it on fire. The hapless gang fled empty-handed as the cash went up in smoke.

According to a report in the Glasgow Evening Times, police said thieves tried to break into the ATM at a filling station on Nov. 5, using oxyacetylene cutters.

A West Mercia Police spokesman said: "The attempted theft, which was reported to police at 12.10 a.m., resulted in the cash machine catching fire, when the would-be thieves made off."

So close, yet so far: An ATM was yanked from a liquor store early Nov. 12 -- but the would-be thieves got no further than the parking lot.

According to a Los Angeles Times report, police showed up at a Cheers Liquor store after a robbery alarm sounded at about 6 a.m. When officers arrived, they found the ATM lying in the parking lot and the front window of the store smashed.

"It looks like they backed into the window because there were tire tracks there. Then they put some kind of strap around it and pulled it out of the store," said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Marty Carver.

That's as far as the cash machine got. Either the strap broke or the alarm scared the thieves off because they left the machine lying on the asphalt.

When Hassan Haddouch, the owner of a nearby coffee shop, got to work at 7 a.m. he saw police working on the crime scene. The joke was on the thieves, Haddouch said.

"He never leaves any money in it," Haddouch said of the liquor store owner. "A guy broke in and took the machine, but they found out it was empty and took off."

"It shows the stupidity of criminals these days," said coffee shop customer Jacob Feuer.
 
The wrong man: A would-be robber picked the wrong victim in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

According to a report in the Miami Herald, Pedro Diaz drove up to an ATM at a Washington Mutual branch about 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 24.

While he waited for his money, a man wearing black clothing and a ski mask approached him and yelled "Give me your money." The robber placed his hand in his jacket as though pointing a gun at Diaz.

Diaz, who works at the Federal Detention Center in Miami and who was wearing a police uniform, drew his weapon, a Glock 23, and loaded a round into the chamber.

The robber ran to a white 2002 Pontiac Grand Am driven by another man. He was not found during the police search that followed.

Not too tough to track: Police arrested a man who allegedly stole an ATM from St. George Cinema 6 -- and left a literal trail of evidence -- in the early hours of Nov. 29.

According to a report in The St. George (Utah) Spectrum, a witness spotted a man putting the ATM into his pickup truck about 5 a.m. When the witness yelled for him to stop, he pulled away so fast that the ATM fell from the bed of the truck and was dragged by a chain as he drove away.

After a search, which included two helicopters, 22-year-old Dylan Kody Adams was arrested on charges of burglary, property theft, two counts of criminal mischief and evading police.

Chain of fools: A Louisiana man was arrested after he attached a chain from a truck to an ATM and tried to drive off with it, authorities said.

A Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputy responding to an alarm about 3 a.m. on Dec. 9 at a Hibernia National Bank office in Harvey saw a dump truck leaving the parking lot with a chain dragging the ground, according to a Times-Picayune report.

"The chain was creating sparks, and the officer noticed the ATM machine had been pulled partially from its base," said Col. John Fortunato, a sheriff's spokesman.

Gregory Lee, 40, of Gretna, was booked for burglary.

Felony in flames: Three Arkansas men accused of trying to steal an ATM pleaded no contest to felony charges in Sebastian County Circuit Court on Dec. 8 instead of going to trial.

Darrell Brooks Spencer, 21, and Christopher James Treadway, 19, pleaded no contest to criminal possession of explosives and felony criminal mischief. Lorenzo Lee Padilla, 19, pleaded no contest to felony criminal mischief.

According to a report in the(Fort Smith) Times Record, police responding to an alarm from an ATM at a First National Bank branch about 3:50 a.m. on March 24 saw fire and smoke coming from the machine.

Two of the suspects were caught on camera; police identified one of them as Spencer when reviewing surveillance tapes from earlier in the day that showed him using the ATM.

Spencer told police he, Treadway and Padilla attempted to steal the ATM by pulling it out of the ground with a logging chain attached to his van.

When they were unsuccessful, they returned to Treadway's house, where Spencer stole a bucket of gasoline from his neighbor, poured some in the van and some in a jug. Treadway told police he and Spencer dropped Padilla off at home, before returning to the ATM because Spencer wanted to burn down the bank in case they were caught on camera.

The men covered several cameras with green paint, but missed the lenses of other cameras near the ATM, according to the police report. Treadway told police he poured gasoline on the ATM at Spencer's direction and lit a rag, which exploded. The men then fled.

Officers noticed Treadway's hair was burned when they contacted him at his home.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dan Shue said the explosives charge against Padilla was dismissed because he was not present when the fire was started.

Treadway and Spencer were sentenced to two years in a regional punishment facility, with an additional 8-year suspended sentence. Padilla received a 10-year suspended sentence. The defendants were also ordered to pay $46,000 in restitution.

Try, try again: A man trying to steal ATMs from west Mobile, Ala., businesses on Dec. 13 was mostly unsuccessful, according to a Mobile Register report.

During the first attempt at 3:30 a.m. at the Hollywood Theaters, the suspect rammed the front doors of the building and dragged the ATM outside, said Cpl. Marcus Young, spokesman for the Mobile Police Department. No money was taken from the ATM.

Between 4:15 and 4:45 a.m., three gas stations were hit in a similar way by the same man, Young said. After ramming the first two stations with a vehicle, the man was unable to remove the ATMs because they were bolted down.

At the third gas station, the suspect was able to remove the ATM from the store, Young said. Police have one surveillance video showing the man dragging that ATM from the convenience store, but the video does not show the type of vehicle the man was driving.

Show and fail: An ATM user at an Oxford, N.C., shopping center lost some money -- but cut his losses by fleeing when the thieves made a foolish move.

According to a report in the Daily Dispatch, the victim had just withdrawn cash and was in his automobile when approached by two masked and armed suspects, described as black males.

Taking his cash, the robbers then demanded that he withdraw more. One of the thieves opened his revolver to show he had bullets in it, and the bullets fell out. The unidentified victim took advantage of that opportunity to speed away.

Detective Mark Blair repeated the standard warning that bank customers should be cautious and aware of their surroundings when withdrawing cash from ATMs.