St. Louis County Men Busted in Brazen ATM Theft

Two men are currently in jail, charged with using a stolen SUV to rip an ATM from its foundation at a St. Louis County bank — an M.O. the two men also may have employed on two other occasions in recent weeks. 

St. Louis County Police were already surveilling the Dellwood home that Charles Staples, 35, and Makez Kimble, 34, used as the base of operations for their brazen scheme when, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, they say the two men emerged from the garage in a Dodge Durango. The stolen Durango itself was already known to police, who had obtained a search warrant to track it via the vehicle's WiFi.

Police surveilled the Durango as they drove down towards south county and to the Montgomery Bank on Union Road in Mehlville. 

There, police say the men used the car to rip an ATM out of its foundation. When police arrived, the Durango's back hatch was open, though it is unclear if the two men were attempting to load the uprooted ATM into their vehicle or if they were attempting to extract the cash from the ATM at the scene.

A chase ensued, with Staples and Kimble shaking police and returning to the house in Dellwood, parking the Durango in the garage. However, according to a police probable cause statement, the detectives who had originally been surveilling that house never left. 

As Staples and Kimble drove away from the Dellwood house in separate vehicles, police pulled them both over and placed them under arrest. 

Staples and Kimble are also believed to possibly be behind two other similar heists that occurred in the early hours of April 15. That morning, two Royal Bank branches — one in University City and the other in Earth City — had their ATMs robbed in a similar manner. 

Two days later, police obtained the search warrant for the Durango's WiFi, setting into motion the events that played out earlier this week, leading to the arrest of Staples and Kimble.

Both men are facing felony attempted stealing of more than $25,000, property damage and vehicle tampering charges. Neither have been charged with the April ATM thefts.