Sheriff’s deputies have arrested one man and are searching for
another suspected of stealing an ATM from Tom’s Liquors in
Prunedale.
By Daniel Lopez
Sheriff’s deputies have arrested one man and are searching for another suspected of stealing an ATM from Tom’s Liquors in Prunedale.
Deputies said Kevin Bazar, 27, of San Leandro and an unidentified man used a stolen Ford van to drag the ATM out of the store at 8005 San Miguel Canyon Road about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Police believe the men are responsible for a similar theft at a Morgan Hill gas station about 90 minutes earlier.
Monterey County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Mike Richards said the theft at the liquor store was recorded by surveillance cameras and there were witnesses in the parking lot.
After prying open the store’s front door with a crow bar, Bazar went inside and attached one end of a tow strap to the ATM, deputies said. The other end of the strap was attached to a hitch on the van, and the ATM was yanked out.
The men loaded the ATM into the van and drove away, deputies said.
The witnesses followed the van in their own vehicle.
“Their intention was to get close enough to copy down the license plate number and call the police,” Richards said.
The suspects “got spooked” when they noticed they were being followed, Richards said, and the driver crashed the van into an embankment on Prunedale North Road, a short distance from the liquor store.
Meanwhile, a deputy responding to investigate the activation of the store’s burglar alarm was notified of the crash.
The suspects, who were wearing hooded sweatshirts, ran away before deputies arrived.
Richards said cash was found around the van and Bazar was carrying about $300 when he was arrested. It’s unknown if that money was stolen.
Bazar was found at a nearby restaurant after an employee called police because the man looked suspicious.
“He was muddy and wet,” Richards said.
Deputies said Bazar was evasive when they questioned him. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and vehicle theft.
Richards said footprints were found in the mud around the van and Bazar’s shoes were taken as evidence.
The other suspect, who is believed to be in his 20s, has not been found.
A large crow bar and the liquor store cash machine were found inside the van, with the tow strap still attached, deputies said.
Richards said the white Ford Econoline van was reported stolen in San Jose. Morgan Hill police believe it was the same vehicle used in the gas station heist.
Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said two men in a white van drove up to the Morgan Hill Gas and Food Mart about 1 a.m. and pulled the ATM out of the building.
Neumayer said he didn’t know how much money was taken.
The machine was destroyed, and pieces were found inside the station at 17905 Monterey Road and in the parking lot, he said.
Morgan Hill police and Monterey County sheriff’s deputies are working together to try to identify the second suspect.
Neumayer said the cameras at the gas station stopped recording before the men went inside and their faces were not visible in the video they recovered.
Richards said the video from Morgan Hill shows that a brake light on the van was broken. The same light was broken on the van wrecked in Prunedale, he said.
