Bojangles’ ATM break-in causes $10k in damages

The Princeton Bojangles was broken into early Sunday morning. The Automated Teller Machine inside was torn out of the moorings, the machine smashed, and the cash box stolen.

The restaurant sustained $8,000-10,000 in damage during the break-in. Princeton Police was still trying to contact the ATM company Monday afternoon to determine how much money the thieves got from the machine.

Princeton Police Chief Eddie Lewis said that there had been similar incidents in Clayton Tuesday night and near Smithfield Thursday night. Law enforcement officers were to meet in Smithfield this Tuesday to discuss the evidence and compare notes.

Some neighboring residents were awoken by a disturbance at the store, reportedly at 3:27 and 3:30 a.m. They suspected vandalism, as they heard tires squealing, and a racket around the newspaper vending machines near the entrance to the store. They saw a white male get out of a pickup, thought to be two-toned, with a dark top and perhaps a gray body, and throw something into the bed of the pickup and leave.

The dispatcher was called at 3:44, and he dispatched an officer to the scene at 3:47. The officer arrived less than two minutes later, according to the police chief.

Upon arriving on the scene, the officer assessed the damage, as a south window in the store was broken out and the ATM machine was stolen. Chief Lewis said he arrived on the scene at 4:15 a.m.

Employees had begun arriving for work, and they were allowed to enter in the back door of the restaurant, and to open and serve through the drive thru only while evidence was being gathered in the seating area of the restaurant.

After the investigating team had completed their work, Bojangles sent in a clean-up crew, and the seating area was opened to the public in the afternoon.

Chief Lewis said a 10” rock was thrown through the window. The thief apparently had a cable on the back of his pickup which he looped around the ATM. The squealing tires apparently came when the truck pulled the cable and eventually broke the machine free of the four ½ inch bolts securing the machine. Significant damage was done to the wall, as well as the window frame at the store. Parts of the machine were smashed and left at the store, but the thief got the cash box with the undetermined amount of cash.

The chief is trying to contact people who might have seen the truck in town at that time.

    Issue Archives