Footage shows how a band of hapless thieves used a forklift to briefly steal an ATM machine – before bungling the job and dropping the machinery in the middle of a busy road in Sacramento.
The incident happened on Watt Avenue near Margaret Way around 6am Wednesday, and saw several troopers from The California Highway Patrol called to the scene after a different pickup truck crashed into the stranded machine shortly.
The video, released by cops in Sacramento County on Saturday, showed how the ATM was taken from the back of a SAFE Credit Union minutes earlier – with one suspect seen ramming the machine off its platform as a second waited in the white pickup.
After ripping the ATM from its installed site, the first suspect – who donned construction gear in a bid to go unnoticed as he operated the also-stolen machinery – loads the machine into his accomplice’s car, who then drops it at some point in the ensuing getaway.
Speaking about the incident Saturday as his office continued to search for the pair, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office described what they believe happened, after the abandoned ATM caused both a traffic jam and an early morning collision.
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Footage shows how a band of hapless thieves used a forklift to briefly steal an ATM machine – before bungling the job and dropping the machinery in the middle of a busy road in Sacramento.
The incident happened on Watt Avenue near Margaret Way around 6am Wednesday, and saw several troopers from The California Highway Patrol called to the scene after a different pickup truck crashed into the stranded machine
‘At approximately 6:15 AM on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, two suspects orchestrated the theft of an ATM machine from the Safe Credit Union on Watt Avenue in North Sacramento,’ the department’s statement read, recounting the accompanying clip.
‘While one individual operated a forklift, the other drove a white pickup truck. After the suspect operating the forklift knocked the ATM off of its platform, they eventually loaded it in the bed of the pickup truck.
‘The second suspect drove away with it; but during the course of their “getaway,” the ATM machine fell out of the truck in the middle of Watt Avenue, causing an unrelated traffic crash.
‘Both suspects fled the scene and have yet to be identified or located.’
Earlier in the week, Sgt. Amar Gandhi also offered an update on the investigation from the scene, when debris from the car that struck the ATM – as well as the machine itself – still littered the street.
“The forklift was recovered just down the street a little bit, so it had been separated,’ he told Sacramento’s KCRA-TV before his department released the footage to aid in their search for the still-at large culprits.
‘So at some point,’ the sergeant continued, ‘I guess the bad guy took the forklift and was trying to drive it down to their getaway car, and from there, dumped the forklift as well.’
The abandoned forklift was ‘recovered just down the street a little bit, so it had been separated,’ he said, revealing the FBI was aiding in their investigation.
‘So at some point, I guess the bad guy took the forklift and was trying to drive it down to their getaway car, and from there, dumped the forklift as well,’ he said.
The video, released by cops in Sacramento County Saturday, showed how the ATM was taken from the back of a SAFE Credit Union minutes earlier
In it, one suspect – donned in construction gear – is seen ramming the machine off its platform as a second waited in a white pickup
‘While one individual operated a forklift, the other drove a white pickup truck. After the suspect operating the forklift knocked the ATM off of its platform, they eventually loaded it in the bed of the pickup truck,’ cops said of the incident, which is being probed by the FBI
After ripping the ATM from its installed site, the first suspect loaded the machine into his accomplice’s car, but the machine was soon dropped at some point in the ensuing getaway
Also abandoned was the forklift, which ‘recovered just down the street’ from the Safe Credit Union bank where the failed robbery took place
He went on to marvel at the suspects’ brazen albeit failed plan, commenting how heisters were getting increasingly ‘creative.’
‘We’ve seen them try to put chains around it and drive it off with a truck and sometimes leaving their bumper behind.’
Also at the scene Thursday was Terry Sanchez, the motorist who crashed into the marooned ATM on a busy Watt Avenue right on the cusp of rush hour.
Speaking to KCRA 3, he revealed his vehicle was damaged from the frontal collision, albeit only slightly – despite the crash occurring while the sun was down.
‘I came around the turn,’ he told the station from inside his car, which he was still driveable. ‘It was dark, and I couldn’t see it in the street, and my truck hit it.
‘It was just something you don’t expect every day.’
The forklift remained at the scene Wednesday after the failed heist, during which no money was stolen
‘While one individual operated a forklift, the other drove a white pickup truck. After the suspect operating the forklift knocked the ATM off of its platform, they eventually loaded it in the bed of the pickup truck,’ cops still searching for the suspects said
The abandoned ATM caused both a traffic jam and an early morning collision Wednesday
‘We’ve seen them try to put chains around it and drive it off with a truck and sometimes leaving their bumper behind,’ Sgt. Amar Gandhi said from the scene Thursday, revealing the FBI was now involved in the investigation. Something like this, he added, is new
Also at the scene Thursday was Terry Sanchez, the motorist who crashed into the marooned ATM on a busy Watt Avenue right on the cusp of rush hour
Officers further revealed that no money was stolen during the incident, and that feds were only involved due to it being standard procedure for cases involving banks.
After releasing the footage of the perpetrators days later in a bid to locate the two suspect who succeeded in snatching the machine but failed to make anything of it, cops are imploring the public to call in with any tips that may help them get to the bottom of the attempted theft.
As of Sunday, the department has yet to make an arrest, nor has it identified either of the suspects. It remains unclear how the pair obtained the forklift used during the failed operation.
Micah Grant, VP of communications and government relations for SAFE Credit Union, revealed in a statement that the bank was aiding authorities in their investigation, which as of Sunday remained ongoing.
“SAFE Credit Union is working with law enforcement on this situation,’ the Wednesday update from the popular bank said.
‘Our members’ security is our top priority and we take measures to ensure their account information is safe. We ask anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to the the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
