[November 18, 2009] Thieves used backhoe to tear ATM from its base, Fort Worth police say Tweet Nov 18, 2009 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Two men from Dallas County were in jail Wednesday, accused of stealing a backhoe that, according to police, was used to tear an automatic teller machine off its base at a bank in east Fort Worth. Bobby Lee, 48, of Dallas and Darius Jackson, 18, of Hutchins were jailed on theft charges, said Sgt. Pedro Criado, Fort Worth police spokesman. A third man ran from police and escaped, Criado said. The trio was first spotted by police at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Polytechnic Heights Office of OmniAmerican Bank, 2330 East Rosedale St., Criado said. The officers were responding to an alarm at the bank when they saw one man on the backhoe on nearby Mitchell Street, 20 feet from the ATM, according to a police report. Two other men were standing nearby. An ATM had been pulled from its base, and although police did not see that happen, they believe it was accomplished with a chain connected to the backhoe, Criado said. The three men tried to run, and that's when officers caught Lee and Jackson; the third man got away, Criado said. The backhoe was reported stolen from a location in the 1300 block of East Rosedale Street, Criado said. Officers also found two vehicles nearby that had been reported stolen -- a Chevrolet Tahoe and a GMC pickup. Investigators believe the men may have intended to use the vehicles to cart away the ATM, Criado said. But so far on Wednesday, Lee and Jackson were only facing charges related to the stolen backhoe, which was worth about $92,500, Criado said. Other charges may be added later, Criado said. Bill Miller, 817-390-7684 To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dfw.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]