Suspects have been spotted throughout Oklahoma, including Weatherford, and nearby states attempting to disassemble ATMs for the cash inside.
The Weatherford Police Department is working with other police departments to attempt to connect the crimes.
WPD Lt. Chris Cote said the incident in Weatherford occurred at First National Bank and Trust Co. of Weatherford. Suspects attempted to use crowbars and hooked chains to the ATM and a stolen vehicle to attempt to break open or pull over the machine. While the suspects attempted to drive forward their chain broke and they drove off without any money. The ATM was significantly damaged following the incident and since the ATM has been replaced.
Police Chief Louis Flowers said WPD is trying to connect other incidents in and out of state.
“Our detectives will be checking on the other cases inside and outside the state to see if there is a connection. They look like they have the same chains and hooks and sometimes we get these suspects who go from state to state,” Flowers said.
Although the crimes have not officially been connected, each crime is very similar when comparing the suspects’ process. The Kingfisher Times & Free Press (KT&FP) reported a similar crime in Kingfisher where suspects used a stolen truck to attempt to break into an ATM machine. Suspects used a chain and hooked the ATM to the stolen vehicle and attempted to pull the machine. After the suspects’ chain broke several times they drove off without any cash from the machine. KT&FT also reported ATM crimes occurring in Oklahoma City, even some having nearly identical MO’s.
Similar incidents occurred near Louisville, Kentucky, where two or three suspects are caught on camera. One suspect used a crowbar to pry off the front of the ATM and another suspect hooked chains to the ATM and a stolen vehicle. The suspects then pulled the ATM apart with the truck and chains and gathered a significant amount of cash. The entire process took about a minute.