ATM too tough for thieves to crack, police say
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
A free-standing ATM might seem like an easy target for a desperate thief, a box of cash sitting on the street, unprotected by a building or a bank lobby.
But transit police say that two teenagers with a 24-inch steel crowbar learned the hard way this morning that the cash machines aren’t a source of easy money.
The teenagers -- Lance C. Devaughn, 18, and Chan V. So, 17 -- dressed all in black and went to the JFK/UMass T Station at 2:30 a.m. carrying a backpack, said Lieutenant Joseph O’Connor of MBTA Police Department. When the teens tried to pry open the ATM, an alarm notified transit police, who were on the scene within two minute, O’Connor said.
“They were not able to get into the safe ... they are very well secured,” O’Connor said.
The teens ran when they saw police, who tracked them with dogs into Columbus Park and onto Carson Beach, where they were arrested, O’Connor said. It was the first arrest for Linos, a German Shepherd who joined Transit Police six months ago.
Devaughn, of Haverhill, and So, of South Boston, are scheduled to be arraigned today in Dorchester District Court on charges that include breaking and entering to a depository, possession of burglar tools, malicious destruction of property, and resisting arrest.
