BLYTHEWOOD — The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is searching for two men who attempted to steal an ATM from a Blythewood bank early Friday morning using a stolen pickup truck linked to a previous heist in North Carolina.
Deputies responded to an alarm at First Community Bank at 201 Main St. around 2:40 a.m. April 17. Upon arrival, deputies found the cash machine had been ripped out of the ground and was lying on its side.
According to an incident report, the ATM was partially cracked open, but the suspects failed to access the cash. The money remained inside the machine when it was recovered.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that showed two white males dressed in all-black clothing. The suspects were driving a newer-model white Ford F-150 with the letters “GN” written on the side, the incident report stated.
Detectives determined the truck had been stolen out of Charlotte and was used in another ATM theft in that city. The suspects had also ripped the GPS tracking device off the vehicle to avoid detection, the report said.
The ATM was towed to a secured compound for processing by crime scene investigators.
Anyone with information regarding the attempted theft or the location of the vehicle is asked to call the Richland County Sheriff’s Department at 803-576-3000 or submit an anonymous tip to CrimeStoppers at 1-800-CRIMESC.
