Guess they forgot their PIN

Bandits Use Backhoe To Steal ATM

SAN ANTONIO -- Bandits have used a backhoe to steal an automatic teller machine from a Central Texas bank.

A witness called police early Wednesday after watching two men in black using the backhoe to break the machine out of a Bank of America building. The suspects fled after they were spotted.

Police spokeswoman Sandy Gutierrez said it was the third heist of its kind since January.

"Because of the similarities in these cases," she told the San Antonio Express-News in Thursday's editions, "the same suspects may be committing the ATM thefts."

Bank officials would not disclose how much money was in the stolen machine, which was taken away in a pickup truck.

"One of the suspects saw the witness and started chasing him with a gun," said Gutierrez, adding that the witness escaped unharmed.

I think the part that boggles me the most is that this was the third such robbery of its kind. You'd think the police might have some leads, since the suspect pool has got to be pretty limited. You'd also think that a backhoe tooling down the road with an ATM in its shovel might attract some attention. And it's not like you'd need to engage in a high speed chase to catch up to them. Not exactly the SAPD's greatest moment here.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on July 17, 2003 to The great state of Texas | TrackBack