Thieves try to steal ATMs in Wallingford and Cromwell and fail, trashing stores, police say
Thieves tried to steal ATMs from pharmacies in Cromwell and Wallingford overnight, but left the heavily damaged stores empty-handed, police said Wednesday.
The front of CVS pharmacies at 891 North Colony Road in Wallingford and 72 Berlin Road in Cromwell were smashed by vehicles whose drivers tried removing the anchored cash machines in the middle of the night. Police were looking through surveillance video in an attempt to identify the would-be thieves.
“It appears someone either drove or backed into the front doors and attempted to remove the ATM,” Cromwell Capt. Fred Sifodaskalakis said of the local CVS.
A third store, Walgreens at 284 North Colony Road, down the street from the Wallingford CVS, had much less serious damage to its front doors, Sgt. Stephen Jaques said. He said police don’t know for sure if all of the crimes were related.
The first attempted theft happened at the Wallingford CVS about 2:50 a.m. Police got a call that someone was trying to steal the store’s ATM, and when officers arrived they found heavy damage to both sets of doors at the store’s entrance. The ATM was tipped over, but intact, Jaques said.
The thieves apparently got in by prying open the doors, he said.
“It appears the suspects affixed some sort of chain or rope to the vehicle and tied it to the machine,” Jaques said. “And they tried to drag out the ATM out by force.”
Then, about 3:20 a.m., the Cromwell CVS was hit. The machine broke in two when the thieves tried to pull it out with a vehicle. The top part was found in the parking lot, Sifodaskalakis said.
The damage is significant, and the store was closed Wednesday morning, he said.
The attempted break-in at the Wallingford Walgreens apparently was much quieter. It wasn’t reported until 7:13 am.
“An employee showed up to work and found some damage to the front door. From what I heard, minimal damage,” Jaques said.
In recent years there has been a series of late-night ATM thefts at closed businesses in the Hartford area, usually convenience stores. The thieves generally drive a heavy-duty vehicle, like a pickup, through the front of the store and use ropes, chains or straps to pull the machine from the floor.
The truck then drags it away.
ATM thefts have happened recently in Enfield, East Hartford, Windsor Locks and West Hartford, among other towns. On Nov. 2 in Bristol, police pulled up on a stolen vehicle dragging a stolen ATM.
Assuming the thieves are able to wrench the machines — which often are bolted down — from their moorings, they then have to figure out how to get the cash out.
One man was arrested by Southington police in 2019 after he used a “Jaws of Life” hydraulic tool to pry open the cash machines. He targeted towns as far north as Canton, as far west as Greenwich and as far east as Stonington, police said.
Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.
