Sheriff: Couple who tried to steal ATM same as thieves who stole Amazon van
A man and woman accused of using a stolen tow truck to try to steal an ATM from a bank early Monday morning are the same pair who stole an Amazon delivery truck last month and drove away, causing the driver to fall out the side door, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office.
A spokesman for the office said detectives made the connection by matching distinctive tattoos on the man’s hand from video taken from the Amazon van theft.
Gary Michael Moyer, 36, and Stephanie Marie Roller, 31, were both charged Tuesday in Kitsap County Superior Court for the theft at Chase Bank, 4350 SE Mile Hill Drive, where video shows the flatbed tow truck repeatedly backing into a drive-thru ATM until it was knocked off its foundation. The video then shows the masked thieves wrapping a tow line around the ATM.
When Kitsap County sheriff’s deputies arrived the two ran away. A deputy tackled Roller and landed on top of her, injuring her face and head, according to court documents.
When Moyer fled he allegedly dropped a loaded Sig Sauer 9mm pistol, which had been reported stolen in Pierce County in September.
After Moyer was taken into custody he told deputies he had “taken something,” but didn’t say what he had taken, went limp and started jerking as though he was experiencing a seizure, according to court documents.
Officers administered Narcan to him, meant to revive people overdosing on opioids.
Also found in the stolen truck were pneumatic scissors – sometimes called “jaws of life” – used by firefighters to cut through cars to remove crash victims.
Both were charged with first-degree burglary – Roller was charged as an accomplice – and possession of a stolen vehicle. Moyer was also charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm as he has been previously convicted of a felony.
Moyer and Roller were identified as boyfriend and girlfriend in an unrelated June “smash and grab” break-in of a head shop in Poulsbo, in which Roller was charged with second-degree burglary, according to court documents.
In that case, Poulsbo police alleged Roller was part of a group who broke into Smoke Train, 20373 Viking Avenue NW, by smashing through the front door during early morning hours and stealing merchandise. She pleaded not guilty in that case.
Moyer is facing a felony charge of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle from a chase with police in June, in which he pleaded not guilty.
He did not appear in court on Nov. 21 for a hearing on the eluding case, the same day a masked man and woman stole an Amazon delivery van on the 2900 block of Salmonberry Road. The driver climbed into the side door of the van but fell out as the thieves drove away, sustaining minor injuries.
Kitsap County sheriff’s investigators recovered security footage from the stolen Amazon truck, found abandoned, that showed a pair transferring packages to a U-Haul truck that had also been reported stolen.
Lt. Ken Dickinson, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said when Moyer was taken into custody Monday for the ATM case deputies matched his hand tattoos to photos of the hand tattoos of the thief who stole the Amazon van.
“That’s the connection detectives have made,” Dickinson said.
The two have not been charged in connection to the Amazon van theft, but Dickinson said they were re-booked in the jail for that theft and investigators forwarded reports to prosecutors for review.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Sheriff: Couple who tried to steal ATM same as thieves who stole Amazon van
