SAN DIEGO–San Diego Police detectives are investigating several recent theft attempts involving ATM machines in San Diego county.
On July 13 between 3:30 a.m. and 4:40 a.m., suspects attempted to take the Mission Federal Credit Union ATM kiosk located at 9900 Carmel Mountain Road in Rancho Penasquitos. The ATM was knocked off its foundation but the suspects were unable to remove it from the scene. Responding officers located an unreported stolen truck nearby. Evidence at the ATM linked the truck to the attempted theft. There was no loss from the ATM.
On July 20 at about 3:30 a.m., an alarm company received an activation at the Cali Baguette Express located at 4425 Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa. The alarm company notified the owner, but no physical check of the business was made. Just before 7 a.m., the owner discovered that the business had been burglarized and suspects had attempted to take the ATM machine. The machine had been pried from the floor and a chain had been used to drag it from the business, however, the chain broke and the ATM was left at the scene. Evidence at the scene indicates that a large, dual-axle vehicle was backed up to front of the business and damaged an exterior light fixture and the roof. There was no loss.
On July 20 at about 4:20 a.m., suspects attempted to take a free-standing ATM from the Las Americas Plaza located at 4201 Camino de la Plaza in San Ysidro. The suspects drove a mid-sized U-Haul truck onto the sidewalk of the mall and attached a cable or strap to the ATM. The suspects were able to knock over the ATM, however, they did not get into it. The ATM was found lying on the sidewalk by mall employees. There was no loss.
Later that morning, at 5:50 a.m., a clerk at the Chevron gas station located at 3502 National Avenue in Mountain View, saw a U-Haul truck speed into the lot. Two males exited the truck; one stood by the truck as the other wrapped a webbed strap around the station’s ATM machine. The truck drove away, but the strap around the ATM broke. The machine was not damaged and there was no loss.
On July 27 just before 3:30 a.m., two suspects wearing hooded sweatshirts and gloves used a pry tool to break into the lobby of the Rady Children’s Plaza located at 3665 Kearny Villa Road in Serra Mesa. They wrapped a chain around the ATM machine and used a full-sized white van to pull the ATM from its foundation. The suspects attempted to load the ATM into the van, but were unable to do so. The suspects then dragged the ATM to a nearby construction site where they were confronted by workers. The suspect van struck the construction worker’s vehicle as they fled the area, leaving the ATM behind. Although heavily damaged, the ATM was not compromised.
The suspects are described as males wearing dark hooded sweatshirts and dark pants. They are between 5’6” and 5’8” with thin builds. In the latest case, the suspects wore gloves.
The U-Haul truck used in the incidents on July 20 has been located. The vehicle used in the latest case is a white Ford Econoline E-350 van. The van is plain with windows only on the back doors. The last 4 digits of the California plate are 6410.
Anyone with information concerning these cases is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department’s Southern Division at (619) 424-0429, Eastern Division at (858) 495-7942 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
