The big, black metal gate covering the doors at T&T Liquors in Bowie, Maryland, was bent, and the heavy padlock used to keep the store secure at night was all busted.
The concrete posts that separate the doorway from the parking lot did not appear to be a deterrent, either, to the thieves who broke in early Monday morning just before 2 a.m.
The ATM, tucked between some refrigerators and at a tricky angle, inside the store on Old Annapolis Road, was gone.
There have been 67 ATM robberies or attempted robberies in Prince George’s County just this year, after police recorded 140 of them last year.
Police are not sure whether this was the work of a group of people which have been targeting ATMs in the county or whether the theft is so easy to copy that others are doing it.
“There’s a usually a pickup truck, or some other kind of vehicle is stolen prior to the break in,” said Lt. John Knott, the commander of investigative services with Bowie Police. “The break-in is committed and the truck is used to help yank the ATM out of the store and then carry it off.”
That’s it exactly what happened in Bowie on Monday morning.
Besides the ATM, some scratch-off lottery tickets, cigarettes and alcohol were also taken. All of that happened even though it took police less than five minutes to get there once the burglar alarm was tripped.
“It doesn’t take long,” Knott said. “They’re very proficient at what they are doing.”
A red pickup truck used in this latest heist was found on Route 50 near the exit for Interstate 295 about 50 minutes after the break-in. Police have not caught any suspects.
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