KENT, Wash. — An ATM was stolen from a small market in Kent Tuesday morning, and whoever stole it is still on the loose.
The Kent Police Department (KPD) was called shortly before 4 a.m. to the 24000 block of Military Road S after the suspects somehow smashed into the front of the business and took off with the ATM. The market was closed at the time of the robbery.
According to the Valley Communications Center, officers saw the ATM on the back of a vehicle headed toward State Route 167 on Kent Des Moines Rd and attempted to stop the vehicle.
However, when the vehicle did not stop, officers ended the pursuit. No further suspect information was released by the KPD.
This was at least the second ATM stolen in King County over the last month. In early February, thieves smashed a pickup truck into the front of a White Center gas station and stole the ATM inside the store. The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) described the vehicle involved in the Feb. incident as a black Chevy Silverado pickup truck.
At the time, the KCSO said it had been the “seventh or eighth” ATM theft in South King County.
"This is a concern of ours,” Deputy Tim Meyer said about the ATM theft in February. “Our detectives from our criminal investigations group are actively working these cases.”
In Centralia in December 2021, thieves used explosives to open an ATM. A 39-year-old man was caught and charged in January for the brazen robbery.