Three men tried to pull ATM from Woodstock store

Three men tried to pull ATM from Woodstock store

An attempted theft has the interest of Woodstock Police Sergeant Jason Beams. "They pried it open right here and then they entered the store with the chain," said Beams.

He's been reviewing surveillance video from Thursday morning's attempted burglary at the Sunny Food #7 convenience store. The video shows two suspects prying open the door.

The suspects wrapped a chain around the ATM machine and attempted to pull it out with the force of a white Ford F250 waiting outside.

The idea was to pull the machine out with the contents inside and be gone. But, "This time the chain actually grabbed right here and pulled the ice cream machine around and so therefore they did not stay around long enough to try it again," said Beams.

That's right. The ice cream machine next to the ATM in a sense saved store owner Rohen Bor close to $3000.

"I think you know it's happened in this area a whole lot of instances, the store down the street been done twice," said Bor.

Bor's referring to Tannehill General Store less than a mile down the street.

They were hit last July then again in August. "I really don't know what made us a target," said Bor.

It's not just Woodstock targeted. Beams says, "We've had three in our area and I've heard of it stretched as far as Birmingham, Bessemer."

Beams can't say with 100% certainty the three suspects involved in Thursday mornings attempt are connected to those of last year though he says the techniques bear a resemblance.

"They target gas stations that are easier to, the ATM's sit closer to the doors therefore they can hook the chain to the ATM and jerk it over in order to load to up," said Beams.

Luckily this time, pulling it out and loading it up was easier said than done.

Because these ATM thefts are becoming more prevalent, Sergeant Beams says a lot of businesses are now taking the money in the ATM and depositing it each night.

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