The Farmington Police Department has been investigating the theft of money from an ATM at Wells Fargo on East 20th Street in Farmington.
Police were notified about 3 a.m. Aug. 5 that “a very large amount of money” was stolen from the ATM, and that the alleged thieves “used a stolen vehicle to this crime,” according to a case report provided on Aug. 21 to the Tri-City Record through an Inspection of Public Records Act request made on Aug. 7, two days after the crime.
The 25-page case report shows that the case remains open and active, despite three individuals having been taken into custody Aug. 6 from a home in the 300 block of East Boyd Drive.
“We are still conducting interviews, and it is an active investigation,” said Shanice Gonzales, Farmington Police spokeswoman.
The individuals who robbed the ATM reportedly stole a tan F-350 pickup from a home in the 2400 block of East 23rd Street.
A black chain was “hooked to the trailer hitch” of the truck and was also attached to red hooks placed inside the ATM use interface screen, according to the report.
The truck was then driven over the shrubbery in the bank’s parking lot and “appeared to have been used to force the ATM open,” the report stated.
The “entire front” of the ATM was “ripped off,” and “all the cash boxes located inside the ATM were missing,” according to the report.
Wells Fargo Branch Manager Destiny Jones estimated there had been $150,000 inside the machine, and damages to it would cost $40,000 to repair.
Farmington Police detectives investigated by canvassing the neighborhood and asking for camera feeds from area residents. They also used footage from the Real-time Crime Center to track at least two vehicles reportedly involved.
The footage caught a red passenger car and a silver or gray Dodge Durango which might have been involved, according to the report, which stated that a vehicle with redacted description was the “getaway” car, and video showed “three individuals dressed in all black running to it as it pulled up to them.” They all had “heavy items in their hands,” the report stated.
No arrests have been made, nor charges filed in this case.
This is a developing story. Check back with www.tricityrecordnm.com for updates.