A Chicago Police Department effort to bust an ATM burglary crew paid off Friday morning with three arrests and the recovery of seven guns, ATMs, and piles of cash, officials said.
The operation began with multiple CPD units monitoring police radio channels for overnight burglary calls, according to a police press release. At approximately 3:25 a.m., four burglars smashed a window at a business in the 3500 block of West Fullerton Avenue in Logan Square, stole an ATM, and fled in what investigators later determined was a stolen vehicle. A community tip helped identify the car.’
About an hour later, at 4:24 a.m., the same vehicle surfaced in the 2500 block of North Halsted Street in Lincoln Park. Video evidence showed multiple burglars breaking into a business and leaving with an ATM.
At approximately 5:30 a.m., officers responded to a burglar alarm in the 3600 block of West 26th Street in Little Village, where the same intruders had stolen an ATM and a cash register.
Working with the ATF, officers tracked the crew’s movements and conducted surveillance, ultimately arresting two juveniles, ages 16 and 17, in connection with the burglaries, police said. Both were charged with three felony counts of burglary and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to a vehicle.
A search warrant executed at a property in the 7800 block of South Cornell Avenue turned up seven firearms, three of which were fully automatic, according to CPD. Investigators also recovered two damaged ATMs from previous incidents, cash, cash register drawers, burglary tools, and vehicle reprogramming devices that can be used to steal cars.
An 18-year-old man who lives at that address, Avion Moore, is charged with three counts of unlawful use of a machine gun and four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, police said. Moore is expected to appear for a detention hearing on Saturday.
Detectives are still working to identify additional members of the crew.
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