Thieves targeting ATMs in Spokane area

Published 9:46 am Thursday, October 29, 2009

SPOKANE — Thefts of automatic teller machines are on the rise in Spokane.

There have been nine thefts in the Spokane area in the past month. The latest was early Wednesday morning, when thieves rammed a car into a convenience store and grabbed the ATM.

Police say the suspect or suspects smashed the doors to break in, then used chains to pull the ATM out of the store and hauled it away in a truck bed. The truck and the machine were found a few blocks away.

In most of the thefts, a stolen truck is driven through walls and doors. Then the thieves wrap chains around the ATM and try to rip it out of the ground.

Information from: KREM-TV, www.krem.com/