NEW ORLEANS — An automatic teller machine, smash and grab is not your typical theft or burglary.
That’s according to Rep. Tony Bacala, a republican from Prairieville.
He’s now calling for stiffer penalties for this type of crime.
“This is more like a bank robbery with the amount of money that is stolen and the amount of damage that’s done,” Bacala said.
Susi Marshall can tell you all about it.
In January, she was working at the Tastee Donut shop at Esplanade Avenue and Broad Street in New Orleans.
Suddenly, masked men rammed a pickup truck into the business.
They charged in through broken glass and fallen bricks.
After trying to pull the machine from the floor and ramming the building a few more times, they left with the ATM.
“It was stressful because I didn’t realize that he had a gun, and we were running for our lives that morning, so at least we made it out safe,” Marshall said. “I fell down trying to get out of here.”
Police believe this crime may be connected to a string of similar thefts, including one at Regions Bank in Uptown and another at a convenience store on Tchoupitoulas Street.
Bacala’s bill calls for a mandatory minimum of five years in prison if convicted of a new state crime, theft of an ATM.
“This is like an organized crime issue now,” Bacala said. “Go somewhere else because you’re going to face some serious consequences here. The penalty should fit the crime.”
“We want to send a clear message to everybody across the gulf south, not in Louisiana,” he added.
Back at Tastee Donut, Marshall agrees you should go to jail if you steal an ATM.
“It probably will help them because, in that way, it will teach them a lesson. Also they’ll probably learn from what they’ve done, so that would be a good thing for them,” Marshall said.
With the trauma employees endured and the damage done, the Tastee Donut chose not to replace the stolen ATM.
Police are still searching for suspects.
Under Bacala’s bill, in addition to going to jail, whoever commits an ATM theft would also have to pay a fine equal to the amount of money in the machine when it was stolen.
The proposal is expected to be considered by Louisiana lawmakers during the upcoming session of the state legislature, which begins next month.
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