Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. GEORGE — An unsuccessful attempt to steal an ATM from a bank in Hurricane in February has led to the indictment of seven suspects, five of whom are in custody, while two remain at large.
The incident was reported Feb. 8, when several people attempted to steal the ATM from the Wells Fargo Bank on the corner of State and Main streets in Hurricane shortly after 4 a.m.
The police responded to find the ATM machine and the surrounding foundation significantly damaged. Video footage later obtained by authorities showed a Ford F-650 commercial grade dump truck hauling a track hoe/excavator on a trailer pull into the Wells Fargo parking lot and park near the ATM.
A man was seen climbing into the excavator and then using the equipment to dismantle the cash machine – "all while the excavator remained on the trailer," federal prosecutors noted in the indictment.
In the process of doing so, the equipment struck the canopy that hung overhead of the ATM and drive-thru lanes, as well as the ATM machine in an attempt to dislodge it from its foundation.
Unable to remove the ATM, the suspects fled the scene and crashed the truck a short distance from the bank just east of 600 East where officers later found it abandoned. From start to finish, the incident took just over four minutes.
Officers scoured the area with K-9 teams but were unable to locate the suspects.
