Thieves take away ATM that was bolted down in Alsip store, and other stores in same strip mall have been targeted recently too
ALSIP, Ill. (CBS) -- Surveillance video shows crooks in action ransacking a southwest suburban business.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, it took just minutes for one of the crooks to steal a bolted ATM from a convenience store in Alsip overnight. Other business owners nearby say they have been targeted as well.
The video shows the thieves loading the heavy ATM onto a sport-utility vehicle in the middle of the night.
"This was the extreme for me," said Sid Desai, owner of JJ Mini-Mart in Alsip. He has operated at 12217 S. Pulaski Rd. for two decades.
"We're just a little convenience store mom-and-pop, you know?" Desai said. "We're not franchised. We're not making any big money."
But big money is exactly what some crooks were after when they broke the glass on the front door to the store overnight. One guy went directly for the ATM in the corner.
Terry: "That ATM is not just sitting on the wall, right?"
Desai: "No. It's anchored down - solid anchor. But they going through all that trouble - and the damage to the property and all that - it's terrible."
As one thief tried moving the machine, the camera caught another guy jumping the counter and stealing as much liquor as possible. By this time, an alarm had alerted Desai, so he called a bar owner nearby.
"And he come out and he sees people breaking in the door, so he called police right away," Desai said.
Alsip police were made aware there was a burglary. They got extra time when the thief got tangled up in the ATM's cords.
The crooks eventually loaded the ATM up onto the SUV, and the surveillance video showed just as that SUV was pulling off, a police car arrived in the lot.
The officer turned on his lights and followed, but police did not end up arresting anyone.
"He was right on the tail, like 10 feet apart," Desai said. "It seems like literally, they just gave up."
Desai was frustrated to see police so close and not make an arrest. But what bothers him and other business owners in the same strip mall is that this is the third time a store there has been broken into in recent weeks.
"It's been happening every other month," Desai said.
Video shows thieves stealing the registers and booze from another store in late January. They loaded up two vehicles at 10 a.m. with stolen goods.
There have been no arrests in that case either.
"If it continues to happen and he shuts down, then where do people go?" a customer at Desai's store said.
When Terry asked Desai what he wants from Alsip police, Desai said, "Just more protection; more watch-out."
We reached out to Alsip police to find out why they did not make an arrest. They did not get back to us.
