Atm Proves Too Heavy For Would-Be Thieves

Thieves were thwarted in mid-heist early Wednesday after discovering they were too weak to lift a large automatic teller machine into their pickup.

According to Coeur d’Alene police, the thieves entered the First Security Bank foyer on Sherman Avenue at about 2:27 a.m. Wednesday.

They cut the wires in the rear of the ATM in the foyer and then dragged the 7-foot-high ATM out onto the sidewalk. After backing a pickup over the curb and onto the sidewalk, the thieves were unable to lift the machine onto the back of the pickup.

A newspaper delivery carrier for The Spokesman-Review was riding her bike near the area and reported hearing a male “grunting and groaning” at the front of the bank. She also saw a pickup leave the area in a hurry.

Although the ATM was heavily damaged, the thieves were not able to open the machine.

A First Security Bank camera, as well as a U.S. Bank camera across the street, may have caught images of the thieves on tape.

, DataTimes