Stolen front-end loader used to steal ATM from Colorado Springs bank, police looking for suspect
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is still looking for a suspect who allegedly used a stolen front-end loader to then steal an ATM from a local bank.
Police say they were called out to Independent Financial bank around 6:45 a.m. on Monday morning. They tell KRDO13 that a suspect used a front-end loader that was taken from a nearby construction site, to ram the ATM in the bank's drive-through and knock it loose.
The hectic scene left caution tape woven throughout the drive-through on Lake Avenue on the south side of Colorado Springs. CSPD says at this time, they don't know who the suspect is, and it's also unclear who owns the heavy equipment that was stolen to carry out the robbery.
One pillar in the drive through was left visibly cracked and splintered, while chunks of concrete were broken off from the curb where the ATM once stood. A light post could be seen knocked over across the parking lot of the bank. The front-end loader remained at the scene, with a shattered windshield for much of the day.
After dislodging the ATM and causing the damage, the suspect then attached the ATM to the back of their vehicle, and dragged it along the ground a little over a mile away, before abandoning the machine in the cul-de-sac of Newport Circle.
Police say there was no cash taken from the machine, or the bank.
Ring Doorbell video from one home along Newport Circle, shows the truck entering and leaving the cul-de-sac. The harsh scraping sound of the machine on the pavement can be heard in the clip.
One resident on the street said he looked outside after hearing the loud scraping coming down his street, and noticed people unstrapping the ATM from that truck, and decided to call 911.
Meanwhile Julie Hatton, who lives yards away from where the ATM was left by a dumpster, says she pulled back her curtains as she does every morning, and thought the object was a washing machine, or some kind of appliance that was abandoned by someone, which she says wouldn't have surprised her.
What did surprise her, was learning that it was an ATM from a robbery just a few minutes away.
"That blows my mind. I mean, it blows my mind." said Hatton.
Marks on the pavement show the trail of the ATM to its resting place, before police arrived sometime around 8:30 or 9:00 a.m., according to Hatton, to retrieve the machine.
"They turned the truck around, backed it up and hooked it up and dragged it up to the back of the truck."
Meanwhile, through the late-morning and afternoon, crews from local companies arrived at Independent Financial bank to clean up the mess left by the attempted robbery. Eventually they moved the construction truck off the property.
By the evening, bank staff had put up yellow tape around the four pillars of the drive through. A KRDO13 crew asked if there would be a timeline for the drive through re-opening, however they were directed to ask the corporate office for any questions about the incident.
If you have any information about the attempted robbery, you're asked to contact CSPD with details.
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