Remains of broken ATM taken from Riverside gas station trash

Part of an ATM thrown away after a string of thefts at a west suburban Riverside gas station was taken from the trash last week, giving investigators new leads in the case.

The top half of the ATM was stolen Nov. 28 from a Citgo gas station at 539 Longcommon Road, according to a statement from Riverside police. That location had been targeted in two other burglaries last month.

The owners of the gas station recently put the bottom half of the ATM in the garbage area outside the building, police said. It was broken and had no cash inside.

At 3:37 a.m. Dec. 3, a car pulled into the gas station, and someone took the bottom half of the ATM, police said. The car drove off northbound on Harlem Avenue.

It took about 40 seconds for the suspects to take the remains of the ATM, police said.

“I had officers making premise checks every 30 minutes and, in some instances, had surveillance occurring for hours at a time,” Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said in the statement. “However, there was an important break in this latest bizarre theft as officers were able to obtain substantial leads and are now actively attempting to locate the offenders and vehicle.”