MEMPHIS, Mo.- A Memphis bank was the target of a successful ATM robbery early Saturday morning.
Captain Bill Holland with the Memphis Police Department told KMEM News that around 4:34 am Saturday, April 20th at least three suspects wearing masks and gloves were caught on security camera footage breaking into the ATM machine on the east end of the Memphis branch of Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri.
The suspects accomplished the break-in by hooking a log chain to the ATM and using a stolen pickup truck to then jerk the chain and force the ATM vault open. The pickup was a Ford F250 commercial vehicle stolen from a private residence in Albia, Iowa earlier that same morning.
Captain Holland stated that from the time the perpetrators struck to the time they departed the scene, less than five minutes had elapsed. They were clear of the scene within one minute of the security alarm sounding. He said that the truck was abandoned at the scene and that the suspects fled in a different vehicle.
Captain Holland further said that an undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the ATM. The canisters that dispense the bills were found discarded and empty near the North Fork of the North Fabius River, located between Highway 15 South and the west edge of Memphis.
There has been a recent rash of similar ATM robbery incidents throughout the listening area. On Wednesday, April 10th, there was an attempted break-in of the ATM at the Palmyra branch of Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri using a very similar M.O. In that incident, Palmyra Police officers responded to a report of suspicious activity to find a commercial pickup truck that had been stolen earlier from a business in Palmyra. The truck was high-centered on a curb with chains and tow hooks attached to the ATM. The engine was running and the passenger door was open. Witnesses stated they observed two male suspects fleeing the scene. They are believed to have escaped in an unknown SUV going northbound on Highway 61.
In yet another incident, an ATM at Meridian Credit Union in Ottumwa was the target of an attempted break-in. The Ottumwa Police Department received a report of someone trying to break into that machine on Friday, April 19th, at 5:43 am. Again, the suspects had used a truck and chains to attempt to pull open the ATM vault door. That truck was also stolen, taken from an Oskaloosa hotel parking lot in the overnight hours prior to the attempted break-in. The suspects were later pulled over in a different vehicle fleeing the scene in Ottumwa. They were arrested and booked into the Wapello County Jail. The three suspects arrested were all from Texas and were fleeing in a vehicle that had been rented in Texas.
Captain Holland said that authorities are unsure if the incidents are related in any way, but that there are several striking similarities. He further encourages businesses and individuals to invest in high-quality security cameras, as they prove invaluable in investigations such as these.
