2 arrested after stolen truck crashes into Brandon store, pulls out ATM
Thieves used truck to smash through store's front entrance, then dragged ATM out, police say
Police responding to a store's security alarm early Monday arrived in time to see a truck drive out the front of the building, hauling an ATM behind it.
Two men face charges after the truck crashed into the convenience store and the ATM was taken, the Brandon Police Service said.
Police responded to the alarm at the store on Lyndale Drive in Brandon, Man., shortly after 4 a.m.
The door and glass at the front of the store were smashed and a truck was inside the store.
"As the officer arrived, the truck exited the store, pulling the ATM, which was dislodged almost immediately as the vehicle turned south from the scene," said Const. Myran Hamm of the Brandon Police Service.
Because the officer was alone, he did not try to stop the vehicle but instead followed it as more units were called, Hamm said.
The vehicle headed south out of the southwestern Manitoba city, but crashed near Ferguson Road, where it hit the ditch and got stuck in a creek bed, police said.
A 27-year-old man was arrested at the vehicle, and a second man, 34, was arrested in the area just before 8 a.m. The pair face charges of breaking and entering, theft of the ATM and theft of the vehicle.
Neither of the men were injured in the crash, Hamm said.
The truck was stolen from another business on Victoria Avenue E. sometime earlier that night, and it doesn't appear anything else from the store was taken, police said.
"By the looks of it, they were focused solely on the ATM," Hamm said.
"It's frustrating to see this kind of damage to a local business and the amount of havoc that it causes for them."
Possible connection to other crimes
Most ATMs don't have money in them overnight, he said.
"So it's even more frustrating that all of this damage is being caused for very little gain at the end of it."
Police suspect the two accused are responsible for other crimes in southwestern Manitoba and are working with other law enforcement agencies to investigate.
There was a similar robbery attempt in April, Hamm said.
"The investigation from that identified these two individuals as suspects," he said.
"It's very concerning, the amount of damage caused to the building and the structure.… It's going to cause major disruption to this individual's business."
Anyone with information can contact Brandon Police 204-729-2345 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).