3 people arrested for multiple commercial burglaries; suspects could be tied to ATM thefts
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore region has experienced a string of ATM thefts and attempted thefts in the last several months.
Now, area police may have a break in the case.
On Wednesday Baltimore County police said that they had arrested and charged three suspects in Baltimore City and those suspects may be "responsible for multiple commercial burglaries that occurred in Baltimore County."
The confirmation came after WJZ found out there was an attempted ATM theft at the Dunkin Donuts off Boston Street in Canton sometime after 3 a.m. Wednesday.
According to the police, there was another crime involving an ATM only a few miles away.
About three hours later, in the 1900 block of Aliceanna Street in Fells Point, multiple people were able to steal an ATM at a corner store in that location, investigators said.
Baltimore City Police are working with Baltimore County Police to determine if the suspects arrested are connected to commercial burglaries in Baltimore City.
These latest cases now bring the number of attempted and successful ATM thefts across the region to at least 16 within the past four months.
Over the years, police have struggled to keep up with ATM thieves.
Detectives sometimes find empty ATMs in vacant lots after the suspects have vanished without a trace.
"Why is it so hard to catch these people?" Ava-joye Burnett asked Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.
"They are wearing masks. They are wearing gloves; using cars that are stolen," Harrison said. "It's really hard to catch them."
Harrison is asking the public to step in and assist detectives with tips.
Harrison said there are probably multiple groups who are trying to steal the ATMs.
In Canton, where the Dunkin Donuts reopened within the following hours with a partially boarded up door, a business owner in the area told WJZ that he is now afraid to stay open after dark.
"It's becoming dangerous down here because everyday something happens," the business owner said.
A lady who works at the Dunkin Donuts told WJZ that another employee was supposed to be at the location at the time the crime occurred/ But that night, she was at another location.
"I just think it's terrible that people are brazen enough to take a whole machine out of a restaurant," a neighborhood resident said.
