4 men enter guilty pleas for stealing cash, damaging ATMs in Georgia, other states
Four men from Houston, Texas pled guilty to stealing cash and damaging ATMs with hooks, chains, and stolen trucks in multiple states, according to federal law enforcement officials.
Jamarlon Butler, and co-defendants Marques Strambler, David Hill, and Traveon Odoms, entered pleas in the Middle District of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, each man faces a maximum of five years in prison and three years of supervised release, plus a potential $250,000 fine.
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The DOJ, citing court documents, said the four Texas men stole cash from ATMs in Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana in the summer of 2021.
DOJ said they used chains and hooks attached to stolen trucks to access the machine’s internal safe, taking $166,482.18 in cash and damages.
The first theft happened in the Middle District of Georgia on June 16, 2021.
“The defendants stole a Ford F250 from Phenix City, Alabama, and targeted the SunTrust Bank on Courtyard Way in Columbus, Georgia,” DOJ said. “Ultimately, their attempt to access the money inside the ATM was unsuccessful but caused $12,727 in damage.”
After the failed attempt, the four men tried again at a Phenix City bank on Highway 280, using the same stolen truck, DOJ said. The total in cash and damages was $129,804, according to officials.
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Police later found the abandoned truck half a mile from the second bank, a Phenix Girard Bank.
Surveillance footage showed the truck being abandoned behind a business and three individuals running toward another vehicle.
An employee at the business told law enforcement officers that he saw the truck traveling at a high speed and dragging something away, causing sparks and noise, before being abandoned in the parking lot.
DOJ said the still-attached tow chain and hook were the cause.
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It was reportedly the same truck used in the attempted robbery of the SunTrust ATM in Columbus.
Later, the defendants stole a truck in Louisiana and tried to rob an ATM at the Hancock Whitney Bank in Covington, La. around 4 a.m., though they were again unsuccessful.
According to DOJ, surveillance footage showed the defendants exiting a truck and attaching a tow chain and hook to an ATM to try and access the internal safe, causing nearly $24,000 in damage.
Butler, Strambler, Hill, and Odoms all pled guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense or to defraud the United States. Butler entered his guilty plea on Aug. 15, and the other three defendants pled guilty on Aug. 7, according to the Justice Department.
“These defendants embraced lawlessness, stealing vehicles and mauling ATMs in numerous attempts to steal money in Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said in a statement. “Our office will not hesitate to hold individuals accountable for criminal actions that cause loss and damage for people, their businesses and the broader communities we serve.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7.
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