Police Bust 3 ATM Thieves, More Arrests Expected

HOUSTON, TX — Three men who deputy constable's said may be part of a larger orgnizede crime ring, were arrested after they stole an ATM machine from the Harris County Tax Office in downtown.

Deputies arrested Angel Lopez 32, Thomas Ortega, 28, and Toby Perkins 31 by Harris County Constable Precinct 1 deputies and charged with theft, after a short pursuit through downtown.

Deputies who were patrolling downtown at about 3:30 a.m., saw several men loading the ATM machine into the back of a white pickup from the Tax Office in the 1000 block of Preston Street.

The men took off in the pickup when they saw the deputies heading northbound on Preston.

Deputies pursued the pickup, which lost control and crashed dumping the ATM on the street in the process.

According to a KTRK report, a fourth suspect escaped and is still on the run.

Investigators later learned that the pickup had been reported stolen.

During the investigation, authorities became convinced the men were operating as part of a crime ring responsible for committed similar ATM thefts in March and April.

Two of those incidents involved the attempted theft of an ATM machine from the Harris County Courthouse in Baytown, and a similar theft at the Harris County Courthouse in Baytown.

In all the reported cases, the thieves used a pickup to smash through the front of the buildings to steal the ATM machine inside.

Officials said that Lopez and Ortega are also charged with evading arrest.

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