Ledger-Dispatch

By Raheem Hosseini (editor@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

Two burglary suspects were caught on = surveillance=20 video during the theft of an ATM at the Pine Grove Stage Stop = early=20 Wednesday morning.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch

One suspect captured on the = surveillance video at=20 the Red Corral appeared to be a white male, approximately 5'10", = 180=20 pounds, wearing a ball cap, black mask, black T-shirt, light color = pants=20 and black gloves.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
"Brazen" was how Amador = County=20 Undersheriff Jim Wegner described the crimes.

Within the past=20 two-and-a-half weeks, two upcountry businesses have reported the theft = of=20 automated teller machines from inside their stores. Sheriff's = investigators are=20 currently reviewing surveillance video obtained from both locations - = the Red=20 Corral Mini Mart in Pioneer and Pine Grove Stage Stop in Pine = Grove.

Red=20 Corral manager Cindy Antonicchio said she's never experienced anything = like it=20 in her five years working at the store. The mini mart was hit July 9 = around 2=20 a.m.

"It was unreal," she said. "The whole front of the store was = gone."

Antonicchio said video surveillance showed one male = suspect=20 breaking through the glass panel beside the door and crawling through = the=20 opening. In a matter of seconds, he had secured a chain around the ATM = bolted to=20 the floor next to the deli counter, which stands across the room from = the front=20 door, and dragged it out with his getaway vehicle, an extended cab Dodge = truck.=20 That triggered the alarm, but by the time the sheriff's office = responded, the=20 vehicle and the ATM were both gone.

"It took like 10, 15 = seconds," said a=20 still stunned Antonicchio. "They just blew it right (out) the=20 window."

The same thing happened almost two weeks later at the = Pine Grove=20 Stage Stop, a convenience store in the 19000 block of Highway 88. Around = 4 a.m.=20 Wednesday, sheriff's deputies responded to the alarm, finding broken = glass=20 littered around the entry to the business and a missing = ATM.

Owner=20 Harbans Singh estimated the two suspects captured on video surveillance = were=20 able to get in and out with the ATM in about two to three minutes. Like = the=20 burglary at the Red Corral, the perpetrators broke in through the front = glass=20 door, attached a chain to the ATM, which was about 7 to 8 feet inside = the=20 business, and hauled it away.

Both stores were back open for = business the=20 morning after the burglaries. The hole at the Red Corral was boarded up = for=20 about a week, with Antonicchio quipping that it was like working in a=20 closet.

Sheriff's officials are not disclosing the amounts in = each ATM.=20 Though Antonicchio said the burglars were able to get away with some = cash, she=20 was surprised at the criminals' boldness. "They're still taking a risk = because=20 ATMs run out," she said.

Investigators are searching for a Dodge = truck=20 with tinted rear side windows and a tinted sliding rear window. The = paint scheme=20 is dark green over light gray. The front grill and fender trim is = chromed. The=20 driver's side front wheel appears to be a spare and the rear driver's = side wheel=20 is a custom chromed wheel.

The suspect captured on the = surveillance video=20 at the Red Corral appeared to be a white male, approximately 5'10", 180 = pounds,=20 wearing a ball cap, black mask, black T-shirt, light color pants and = black=20 gloves. Two suspects were captured on the surveillance video at Pine = Grove Stage=20 Stop. The first was a white male, approximately 5'10" to 6', wearing a=20 white/green ball cap, green short-sleeve shirt, black pants, black = gloves and=20 tan boots. The second was a white male, approximately 5'10" to 6', = wearing a=20 blue/tan ball cap, blue short-sleeve shirt, blue pants, black and white = gloves=20 and off-white sneakers. While the suspects haven't yet been identified, = Wegner=20 said the consistent modus operandi of each crime suggested the same = perpetrators=20 were behind both burglaries.

The ATMs were valued at $4,500 and = $5,000=20 and both businesses suffered physical damage.

Anyone with any = information=20 regarding the suspects or their vehicle can contact the Amador County = Sheriff's=20 Office at 223-6500 or Amador County Secret Witness at 223-4900.

Raheem = Hosseini