Police Nab 3 in the Case of the Stolen ATMs

Montgomery County police said Wednesday they had arrested three men in connection with the string of ATM thefts from 7-Elevens in the area.

ATM thefts have been plaguing the convenience stores since February. Surveillance video has captured thieves driving a truck through a store window and then loading the ATM onto the back.

About 18 thefts have taken place in the region. The three men arrested have been connected to three.

The arrested men are Deandre N. Jackson, 27, of the 10500 block of Louisville Lane in Upper Marlboro; Omar Barnes, 28, of the 2300 block of Good Hope Court in Southeast, Washington, D.C.; and Janarro R. Hewett, 27 of an unconfirmed address.

Online court records say they have been charged with robberies that took place April 30, May 2 and May 7. Barnes remains jailed with bail set at $50,000. The judge did not set bail for Hewett and Jackson, according to the online court records.

The April 30 case happened about 3 a.m. when two men wearing masks entered the 7-Eleven store at 15539 New Hampshire Avenue in Cloverly, police said. The men forced employees to the rear of the store and a third man drove a pickup truck through the store’s front window. The men loaded the ATM into the bed of the pick-up truck and the three suspects fled the area in the truck.

On May 2, again about 3 a.m., two men wearing masks entered the 7-11 Store at 12257 Tech Road in the Fairland area and forced employees to the floor, police said.

A third man drove a red pickup truck through the store’s front window, police said. The men loaded the ATM into the bed of the pick-up truck and the three suspects fled the area in the truck. During the investigation, detectives learned the men parked the truck in a nearby residential neighborhood and offloaded the ATM into a white van, which had been parked in the neighborhood.  The suspects then left the area in the van, leaving the pick-up truck abandoned in the neighborhood.

Then yesterday, about 3:50 a.m., Montgomery County police officers in the area of the 7-Eleven convenience store at 11303 Lockwood Drive in White Oak, saw a white van and a blue pickup truck drive through the parking lot of the 7-Eleven.  Both vehicles drove out of the parking lot and entered a nearby residential neighborhood.

A few minutes later, officers saw the pick-up truck return to the parking lot of the 7-Eleven.  Officers observed two suspects, wearing masks, exit the truck, enter the 7-Eleven, and confront employees who were working inside the store, police said.

The man driving the pickup then positioned the truck as if in preparation to drive the truck through the store’s front window. Upon seeing this activity, officers immediately converged on the 7-Eleven.

Once they saw the police, the two men inside of the 7-Eleven fled from store but were caught quickly by officers, police said. These suspects were subsequently identified as Barnes and Jackson.

Also, upon seeing the police, the driver of the pickup fled the parking lot in the truck. Officers pursued the pickup on to the outer loop of the Capital Beltway (I-495) until the truck was involved in a collision on I-495 at Kenilworth Avenue in Prince George’s County.

After the collision, the driver of the truck tried to flee, but he was caught quickly by officers.  This suspect was subsequently identified as Hewett.

Further investigation determined that the white van and the blue pick-up truck had been recently reported as stolen in Prince George’s County.

This remains an active and ongoing investigation.  Detectives are working to determine if these three suspects were involved in any prior robberies in the area where ATMs were targeted.

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