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ST. GEORGE — Five men have been arrested in southern Utah for allegedly taking money from an ATM that was being repaired.
And detectives say they may be linked to another ATM robbery in Utah.
On Monday, a man was servicing an ATM at Wells Fargo, 1218 S. River Road in St. George, when two men wearing masks got out of a white vehicle and pushed him away, according to a police booking affidavit.
"The males took four ATM cassettes containing an unknown amount of cash and got into the front and back passenger seat of the white car. The amount of cash taken from the ATM and (the service man) is unknown but estimated to be over $5,000," the affidavit states.
A witness followed the men, and watched as two passengers got out in the Bloomington Hills area while the driver continued along River Road.
"According to the witness following the white passenger car, the occupants of the vehicle were throwing black boxes, later identified as the ATM cassettes, from the vehicle as they drove. The damaged cassettes were later recovered by officers," according to the affidavit.
Police located the car near Brigham Road and River Road and arrested the driver. Investigators then continued looking for the other suspects.
"While searching for the suspects, an officer located a single black shoe and a white pillow case containing over $5,000 in cash. A second black shoe was later located by a concerned citizen," the affidavit states.
After what police described as "an extensive search of the area," a second man, not wearing shoes, was arrested in the Bloomington Hills area. St. George police posted a message on their Facebook page on Monday, advising residents in the area of the police activity and requesting that, "If you live in the Bloomington Hills area, specifically, Sherman Drive, Sherman Circle and Fort Pierce and those surrounding areas we ask that you check your side yards, garbage cans, sheds, etc. for evidence related to this robbery."
"Throughout the course of the investigation, a total of five males were located and believed to have participated in the execution of the robbery at the ATM. The males were all located in the same area and are from Texas," police stated in the affidavit. "I was notified of a similar ATM robbery which occurred on (Saturday) in northern Utah in which a large amount of cash was obtained in a similar manner by the suspects. Some of the suspects from this incident are believed involved in that crime."
Jarvus Keith Lewis, 31, Justin Renard Leonard, 37, Ronald Edward Charles, 27, Aaron Taylor Adams, 28, and Dominick Nicholas Snell, 20, were each arrested for investigation of robbery and theft.
