Two Council Bluffs men are jailed after allegedly yanking an automatic teller machine out of a Shelby County Bank. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says 34-year-old Robert Edie and 19-year-old Patrick Eggerling were arrested following a pursuit that spanned two counties and ended in a crash.
The incident began at around 4 a.m. when authorities were notified witnesses saw the suspects use a log chain to pull an ATM out of the Farmer’s Trust and Savings Bank in Early and drag it onto a street before it was loaded into an SUV. Not long after an alert was issued to area law enforcement, a Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputy observed the vehicle on Highway 30, near Logan.
When the suspects failed to yield to the deputy, a pursuit ensued and continued to Interstate 680 in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol and Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputies joined in the chase, which ended after the SUV crashed into a ditch.
Edie and Eggerling took off on foot but were apprehended a short time later. The were being held in the Shelby County Jail on felony charges of 1st degree theft, 3rd degree burglary, possession of stolen property, and criminal mischief in the 2nd degree. Both men also face an aggravated misdemeanor charge of possession of burglary tools.
The ATM was recovered from the rear of the SUV, which was determined to have been stolen from Wright County.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic