ATLANTA — Police are searching for the criminals who smashed into a midtown Atlanta CVS, trying to steal money from an ATM.
Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach learned this is the third similar crime in as many weeks and neighbor say they are concerned about the recent spike in crime in the area.
The entrance to the CVS pharmacy in the Ansley Mall shopping center is boarded up and has a temporary door after thieves drove a large 15-passenger van through the main entrance.
“It’s kind of shocking. Ansley is supposed to be this nice place,” shopper Jacob Velcoff said. “I never thought I’d see something like that.”
The van backed through the front of the store around 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Tire tracks left behind show how the van jumped over the curb, through some pillars and into to the front doors of the store.
Atlanta police are looking for four suspects who are possibly linked to similar smash-and-grab robberies over the last couple of weeks targeting ATMs.
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But this time, they left the cash behind, unable to move it or bust into the ATM.
They got away in the stolen white ford Econoline van that turned up within a couple of hours in the Ansley Park neighborhood right behind the plaza. A homeowner called 911.
“Well the motor’s still running, the doors are wide open and the ignition’s smashed,” neighbor Dennis Ferioli told Gehlbach.
The neighborhood’s seen a recent spike in crime, some of which have been violent. Last month, the area was the target of at least four early-morning carjackings.
“It’s kind of nuts. This is a nice area. All the carjackings and stores being blown out, it’s kind of crazy,” Ferioli said.
“I wouldn’t think this would happen in this area,” Velcoff said.
Cox Media Group
