String of Dallas ATM robberies continues

The Shell station on Walnut Hill Lane near Stemmons Freeway (NBC DFW)
The Shell station on Walnut Hill Lane near Stemmons Freeway (NBC DFW)

DALLAS (TIP): Police are searching for five suspects who busted through a Shell gas station and food mart Thursday, June 25 morning and took off with a bolted-down ATM while a clerk was working.

The business at the corner of Composite Drive and Walnut Hill Lane is the latest victim in a string of smash-and-grabs.

Surveillance video shows a truck backing into the wall twice. Four masked men wearing gloves get out, snatch the ATM in just minutes, then take off. A fifth suspect stayed inside the vehicle.

“It’s pretty sad,” said customer Ever Perez. “I asked the guy, and he’s still shocked he didn’t want to talk about it.”

Thursday’s crime marks the 22nd successful smash-and-grab of 2015, a trend Dallas police are trying to break.

“To come in and see the ATM ripped out like that when people are working inside, that’s pretty brave,” said Danny Jezek.

Tire marks show where are White 1990s GMC pickup rammed into the flood mart and plowed through merchandise around 5:30 a.m. Thursday.

“It’s pretty messy,” added Perez. “He doesn’t even have time to clean it up cause he still has a business to run,” he said of the store manager.

Regular customers like Jezek feel for the employees whose nerves are rattled and who now have a long day of cleaning up.

“It’s not their ATM machine so I guess they don’t have to worry about losing their money, but somebody could have gotten hurt,” said Jezek. “Luckily they didn’t.”

Dallas police created a task force back in January to catch ATM thieves. While nearly two dozen have gotten lucky this year, there were 30 other attempted smash-and-grabs.

This is second in two days and fifth in two weeks police are investigating.

 

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