Twice in the last month thieves have managed to steal automated teller machines in or around the Rancho area. The first was stolen from the Folsom Outlet Malls on August 31st,  only to be found days later in the back of a stolen pickup truck in Rancho Cordova. ATM number two was stolen from Nimbus Winery Shopping Center on September 4th, after a vehicle was driven through the entrance of the building, creating quite a mess and a gaping hole that had previously housed the ATM.

The most recent attempt on “relocating” an ATM occurred in Rancho Murieta on Sunday at 3:50 in the morning.  A security officer heard the alarm for the Rancho Murieta Country Store at 7175 Murieta Drive and as he responded, he found the store’s window smashed out and a chain and cable wrapped around the ATM.

The store’s surveillance tape is the first to effectively record any of the ATM robberies and shows a pickup truck backing up to the glass door and a person throwing a rock through. The cable was attached to the back of the truck and the driver unsuccessfully tried twice to pull the ATM out.  The ATM was bolted to the ground.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the attempted theft. All three of the ATM incidents seem to have occured between 2:30 and 3:30 in the morning and all of the ATM’s appear to have been stolen (if not bolted down) in the same manner involving a truck.