Stolen ATM recovered after it falls from van

Published 4:44 pm Monday, July 20, 2015

LYNNWOOD — It wasn’t your every-day cash withdrawal.

Yet for the crooks, it was a classic case of easy come, easy go.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies recovered a stolen ATM after it fell out of van driven by the two men suspected of stealing it from a Fred Meyer store near Lynnwood Sunday night.

The men backed a white van up to the supermarket in the 2900 block of 164th Street SW around 11 p.m. Sunday. They then walked up to the ATM, cut the cables and loaded the machine into the van, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.

As they were leaving the parking lot, they apparently drove too fast over a speed bump, causing the ATM to fall out.

The suspects then drove away without attempting to retrieve it.

Around 10:20 a.m. Monday, patrol deputies received a call about an unoccupied white van that was left idling near the intersection of 164th Street SW and Maple Road.

“It is believed to be the same vehicle used in the theft the previous night and was confirmed to have been reported stolen out of Kent,” Ireton said.

The van was impounded for evidence.

Ireton said it is too early to say if the case is connected to an ATM theft from Marysville last week.

“We aren’t ruling anything out,” she said.

Police in Marysville are looking for three men believed to have stolen an ATM from a Fred Meyer store in broad daylight July 13.

Witnesses reported the men entered the store at 9925 State Avenue around 9:50 a.m. and unplugged the cash machine.

“They had a dolly and put it up on the dolly, wheeled it out of the store, loaded it into a pickup truck and drove off,” Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.

Witnesses were able to provide officers with a description and license plate for the pickup. It was found later that day.

It, too, had been stolen.

Detectives were reviewing surveillance footage, Lamoureux said.

No additional details about either suspect in the Lynnwood case were available Monday. Anyone who believes they may have information is urged to call the Sheriff’s Office Anonymous Tip Line at 425-388-3845.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.