Police: 3 masked individuals tried to haul away ATM using stolen truck

David Gambino, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·2 min read

Sep. 15—Three masked individuals used a stolen pickup truck to try to dislocate and haul away an ATM from Traditions Bank in Priceville on Monday, according to Priceville Police Chief Jerry Holmes.

"They had some chains and some hooks and whatnot, and they were trying to remove the ATM from its foundation," Holmes said.

A citizen driving by the scene at 380 Alabama 67 stopped in the median to call 911 at around 3 a.m., according to Holmes.

"As we were on our way, they fled the area on foot," he said. "They left their vehicle they were in, which was stolen. We recovered it."

Holmes said two drones equipped with infrared cameras were deployed in the area to search for the individuals. One drone was operated by Priceville police, while another law enforcement agency provided a second drone to assist.

"Soon after the call went out, we got some drones up in the air to see if we could spot anybody hiding — you know, laying down somewhere — but it was unsuccessful," Holmes said. "That's why we think they were able to get in another vehicle and get out of the area."

Deputies with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office helped search for the suspects, according to spokesman Mike Swafford.

Holmes said the three individuals are likely adult males and that the ATM's camera captured some of the activity.

"The ATM service tech said that there was some blurry footage of them with masks on, but that's all it was," he said. "It wasn't anything that you could tell if they were white, Black, Hispanic, male, female."

A Traditions Bank manager confirmed the attempted theft but otherwise declined to comment.

Holmes said his department has some leads to follow up on and the investigation is ongoing.

"By looking on the internet, I've seen where similar crimes have happened in the area, like Huntsville and so forth and so on," he said. "It may be part of the same crew; I'm not sure."

On March 9, Huntsville police responded to an attempted ATM theft at Progress Bank on Carl T. Jones Drive at around 5 a.m., according to reports by AL.com. When they arrived on scene, officers found the ATM chained to a pickup truck.

On Jan. 29, 2022, Athens police said they were notified of an alarm at PNC Bank on U.S. 72 East at around 4:30 a.m. When officers arrived, they found the ATM had been broken into and a pickup reported stolen from Decatur had been abandoned in the parking lot. Officers canvassed the area but were unable to locate the offenders.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.