Criminals grab cash from 2nd ATM in San Antonio in less than 2 weeks

In both cases, someone used truck, chain to rip open machine

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – For the second time within less than two weeks, someone has cracked open a bank ATM and stolen money from it.

The latest burglary in San Antonio involving one of the cash machines happened before 4:30 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of West Avenue and Basse Road.

San Antonio police found a truck in a neighborhood nearby that they believe was used in the crime. It still had a thick metal chain attached to the back of it.

Police found the truck the criminals used, abandoned and with a chain still attached, in the 600 block of Venice Street. (KSAT 12 News)

Officers said the burglars, using the truck and chain, somehow managed to rip off the entire front section of the ATM, then quickly grab cash.

Police searched the area but did not find those people.

The truck was left abandoned on the front lawn of a home on Venice Street.

The case bears quite a few similarities to an ATM break-in early in the morning of July 18.

Police found an ATM near Marbach Road and Hunt Lane that had been damaged in the same way.

At that scene, they said the criminals got away with “a good amount” of cash.

Officers said at that time that it appeared they may have used a different vehicle to get away.

They also found a stolen pickup that was left on a neighborhood street.

A public information officer for SAPD said Thursday morning that it was too soon to determine whether the cases are connected.

A crime scene investigator collects evidence from the broken ATM. In the foreground is the front door that was ripped from the machine. (KSAT 12 News)

The ATMs that were burglarized in both cases were emblazoned with the logo for Chase Bank.

KSAT 12 News sent an email to Chase regarding the burglaries and a bank official responded with the following statement:

We record customer deposits in our system as soon as they make them at the ATM. As always, customers should contact Chase with any questions. We review our security whenever there is an issue like this.


About the Authors

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Santiago Esparza is a photojournalist at KSAT 12.

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