Suspected ATM thief arrested
Published 11:31 pm Wednesday, January 18, 2012
FBI agents arrested a man Wednesday in Jacksonville, Fla., for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from ATMs across the United States, including one in Berrien Springs.
John Crabtree, 50, was arrested for obtaining money under false pretense (between $1,000 and $20,000) and pending federal charges.
According to Chief Milton Agay of the Berrien Springs Oronoko Township Police Department, his agency issued a warrant on Dec. 27 for Crabtree, who allegedly manipulated an ATM at the Express Mart/Phillips 66 Station on or about Aug. 19. He obtained thousands of dollars from the machine.
Det. Sgt. Patrick Teed of the BSOTP was working with the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, St. Joseph office, and the FBI Jacksonville Florida office, which led to the arrest.
Crabtree was tracked across several states allegedly illegally obtaining money from ATMs. The amount has been estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Crabtree will be extradited by to Michigan by the Michigan Department of Corrections.