By CHRIS JACKETT
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Two thieves recently decided the easiest way to make some quick money was to steal an entire automated teller machine.
A security officer at Chase Bank, 18800 Hubbard Drive, called police about 3 a.m. Dec. 6 as he watched two men remove the ATM via a live video feed. The two men wore dark clothing and black masks while using two dark-colored pickup trucks to steal the machine.
By the time police arrived, the men and ATM were both gone, but officers located a stolen Ford F-150 truck driving near Warwick and Piedmont streets, near Grand River Avenue and Outer Drive in Detroit. Officers approached the vehicle as it was parked in a driveway in the 6900 block of Warwick, and two men fled on foot into nearby backyards. Both men got away; the ATM was not in the truck.
The entire machine had been stolen with the assistance of a front-end loader stolen from nearby AAA Michigan headquarters. The suspects hotwired the front-end loader, which is used for snow removal, and used it to knock over and steal the ATM.
“The Police Department needs assistance from the community to help solve these crimes. Many times criminals will admit their crimes to friends and acquaintances,” Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a statement. “If you or someone you know has any information that may assist in identifying the suspects involved in these incidents, please call the Dearborn Police Tip Line at (313) 943-3012.”