Conyers man arrested in ATM thefts
David Simpson - Staff
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
 

A man with experience operating heavy equipment has been charged in metro Atlanta's recent rash of automated teller machine thefts.

Conyers police said James Glenn Henderson, 45, was arrested at the home of his estranged wife in Conyers early Monday.

A Conyers bank was among at least seven targeted since June 18 by a thief or thieves who used stolen heavy equipment to pry ATMs out of bank buildings. Four other cases occurred in Gwinnett County and one each in Atlanta and Alpharetta.

Conyers police Capt. David Spann said it was unlikely the thefts were carried out by a single person, but investigators had not yet confirmed that others were involved.

Henderson was arrested with a stolen vehicle, but no money was recovered, Spann said. He said authorities have not yet determined whether anyone ever got the ATMs open to steal cash.

Spann said Henderson would be charged with theft by taking in Suwanee and Conyers in which ATMs were pried out of bank buildings.

FBI spokesman Steve Lazarus said federal authorities were considering whether to bring charges against Henderson.

Spann said investigators got a tip that Henderson might have been involved and checked his work experience.

"He did have a background in construction and heavy equipment operation," he said. He was arrested without incident.

The thefts began June 18, when someone stole a bulldozer from a construction site and used it to yank an automated teller machine off its base at the Homestate Bank on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Suwanee. Surveillance video shows the crook put on a hard hat first.

In the second incident, a forklift was used to knock down an ATM at a SouthTrust bank on Dogwood Drive in Conyers on June 24.

An ATM stolen July 19 from a Wachovia branch in Buckhead brought to seven the number taken in metro Atlanta in the past five weeks.
 

 

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