NEW ORLEANS — Authorities are asking for the public's help to identify two men who have been linked to a brazen ATM theft at a New Orleans donut shop as well as an attempt to steal another machine from a bank.
The New Orleans Police Department said the two men used a dark grey Ford F-250 pickup truck to crash through the wall of the Tastee Restaurant and donut shop on Esplanade Avenue on Tuesday morning.
Surveillance video shows two people walking up to the locked door around 4:30 a.m. They walk away and 20 seconds later a pickup truck smashes through the restaurant.
"One guy had a gun so we just ran through the back door and got out of here," said Michael Ulmer, a 40-year employee of Tastee.
Video showed the thieves trying to pull the ATM from the floor, but are unsuccessful at first. They rammed the truck back through the restaurant two more times until the ATM rips off the ground. The thieves are seen in the video leaving with it.
On Wednesday, detectives said the two men had been linked to an attempted ATM theft at a bank in the 5400 block of Tchoupitoulas Street just 30 minutes before the burglary at Tastee. Security video shows these same two men trying to break into a bank ATM and driving the same dark gray Ford F-250.
The police department shared photos of the suspects and the pickup truck on Wednesday.
Anyone with information about the suspects, the vehicle or the burglaries is asked to call NOPD detectives at 504-658-6010. They can also report information anonymously to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111.
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