Police allege the group tried to steal from more than 70 ATMs inside DFW convenience stores.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Police have arrested 14 people for their alleged role in scores of attempted ATM thefts in Dallas-Fort Worth since April 2024.
A search warrant obtained by WFAA indicates the group targeted mostly 7-Eleven convenience stores because their ATMs are kept closer to the front of their buildings.
The group stole more than $3 million, according to Grapevine police. At least five police departments and the Department of Public Safety worked together to identify suspects, part of a collaborative effort they named “Operation Big Gulp.”
“We weren’t dealing with teenagers,” Fort Worth Police Detective Brian Raynsford said. “This group of individuals were in their mid-20s to early 30s, so they were disciplined. They were practiced. They had their ‘M.O.’ down fairly pat.”
Police identified the pattern: the group backed up a stolen vehicle to the convenience store, exited the truck, smashed the store windows with a sledgehammer or crowbar, chained the ATM inside the store to the vehicle, then drove forward to pull the machine through the broken window.
If it landed hard enough, the ATM would split open and the thieves could remove the cash drawers inside.
In some cases, the thieves abandoned the stolen vehicle after they completed the ATM heist.
“They were business-like,” Raynsford said. “This group was mature and organized. They showed a level of sophistication.”
Some attempts were not successful. The crew failed to remove the money from an ATM it pulled from a 7-Eleven on McCart Avenue in Fort Worth, and twice failed to steal from an ATM in a 7-Eleven on William D. Tate Avenue in Grapevine.
However, the suspects did not panic when their scheme failed.
“They were so disciplined, they would not take time to correct their mistakes,” Raynsford added. “If something happened and they didn’t like it, they just picked up and left.”
An affidavit indicates the group often scouted its locations before attempting the heist. The crew also brought lookouts with them.
The arrestees are from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and likely run in the same social circle, Raynsford said. Grapevine police arrested the 14th suspect Tuesday.
“This crew is an organized crew, but it wasn’t the same persons in each offense,” he added. “Some people would be responsible for 2-3 offenses, then they might recruit people who’d commit a couple of offenses.”
On Nov. 17, 2024, the crew stole from a 7-Eleven on Brown Trail in Bedford. Police found the stolen vehicle used in that crime about a half-mile away.
Officers traced the vehicle back to its owner, who said he’d tried to report it stolen to Dallas Police.
A warrant indicates investigators then contacted a 7-Eleven regional manager, who reported 43 incidents of ATM offenses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since April 13, 2024. The first incident occurred in Balch Springs.
In November, the group allegedly attempted to steal from the McCart Avenue 7-Eleven location in Fort Worth using a stolen Dodge pickup. Investigators used Flock cameras to determine two other cars accompanied the Dodge from Dallas to Fort Worth.
An affidavit says Raynsford tracked one of the following cars to the dealership that last sold it. They identified the owner, a girlfriend of one of the arrestees.
Investigators secured a warrant for AT&T mobile phone data, which placed the man at three of the 7-Eleven locations during the time of the thefts. Calls and texts obtained via warrants established the larger ring.
Investigators are now trying to determine if more people were involved.
“We can only talk amongst ourselves so much,” Raynsford said. “If there are other agencies out there who’ve had similar offense during this time period or if there are people out in the community who’ve heard something or seen something, not is a good time to contact us.”
