HERMITAGE, Mo. (KY3) – Hickory County deputies arrested two people wanted for attempting to break into an ATM in Hermitage Tuesday morning.
The driver sped off after Hickory County Sheriff’s Deputies saw them. The chase entered Camden County before the driver turned around and returned to Dallas County. The van hit spike strips, ending the pursuit north of Urbana. Sheriff Greg Burke says speeds reached up to 90 miles per hour.
About 30 minutes before the ATM break-in was reported, a van was stolen from the Bethel Assembly of God Church.
“Actually, I got a call from a deacon who told me it was sitting in a ditch down on his way to work this morning,” said Allen Perkins, the Pastor of Bethel Assembly of God Church in Hermitage.
It was a wake-up call Pastor Perkins didn’t expect. Around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the van for his small church was stolen, and it was used in the attempted theft of an ATM at the Oak Star Bank across the street.
“They took it and took it directly to the bank and used it,” said Perkins.
Hickory County Sheriff Greg Burke said that two people jumped into the van when his deputy arrived and took off.
“There was a gray-colored van backed up to the ATM. They took off, then a pursuit.”
That pursuit lasted less than an hour.
“For whatever reason, they were attempted to be spike striped several times, they lost a tire and went into a ditch, and we took two males into custody,” says Sheriff Burke.
Law enforcement from Hickory, Dallas, and Camden Counties assisted in that pursuit. At one point, Sheriff Burke says they nearly hit a semi-truck head-on.
“Speeds were anywhere between 70 to 90 MPH,” says Sheriff Burke, “They are wanted in other counties for thefts, but they are going to stay here until we are done with them.”
For the small community church, the loss of the van is challenging.
“We only have liability insurance on it,” says Perkins.
The church is putting its faith in a higher power.
“The Lord always provides. He provided that van. He will provide another if we need it,” says Perkins.
The van wasn’t just used as a getaway vehicle.
“These two guys, I watched the video for several minutes of them trying to get into it, trying to rip the door off with the van, they broke the back glass out of the van,” says Sheriff Burke.
Sheriff Burke is thankful no one was injured and for the assistance of the other counties in apprehending the two. Are these two responsible for the other ATM thefts in the Ozarks?
“There is a lot of similarities to this, we will be contacting the other agencies. The only thing I can guarantee is they tried ours,” says Sheriff Burke.
Sheriff Burke says the two are wanted on theft charges out of the Kansas City area. They have not yet been formally charged in Hickory County.
“They almost hit a semi-head-on; they did cause a lot of traffic issues,” said Sheriff Burke. “They are wanted in other counties for thefts, but they’re going to stay here until we’re done with them.”
We reported back in April about a string of ATM thefts across Missouri, the last at the Oak Star Bank in Urbana. Other thefts have been reported in Eldon, Golden, Greenview, Lebanon, Rolla, Salem, Springfield, and Versailles.
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