Three men from Texas were charged last week for the theft of funds from an ATM last month in Waterloo.

The men are believed to be connected to a national network of similar crimes.

Jacobi D. Townsend, 21, of Humble, Texas, and Marcus A. Cockrell, 21, and Jeremy J. Neloms, 23, both of Houston, Texas, were charged May 5 in Monroe County Circuit Court with felonies ranging from conspiracy to commit financial crime, theft, criminal damage to property, possession of burglary tools and possession of a stolen/converted vehicle following an April 14 theft from an ATM at First National Bank of Waterloo, 744 N. Market Street.

Court information alleges the men stole “in excess of $10,000 but not more than $100,000” from the ATM.

Police said the incident occurred at about 2:45 a.m, with suspects wearing ski masks and gloves in a truck using crowbars to pry open the outside of the ATM before utilizing a chain tied to the truck to break money canisters out of the machine.

Police said the suspects arrived in two vehicles and drove off in one. A green 2003 Ford pickup was used in the commission of the theft. That vehicle was later determined to be stolen out of Belleville. The suspects drove off in a dark-colored SUV as police arrived on scene.

The Waterloo Police Department conducted a joint investigation with the Sparta Police Department to investigate burglaries to ATMs in both cities.

A similar ATM theft occurred about 11:30 p.m. April 13 at a Sparta bank using a vehicle that was stolen in Sparta.

WPD Detective Andy Dahlem and Sparta Police Sgt. Cody Mahan were able to track and identify three Texas men who appear to be part of a large network of Houston area men that travel the country committing ATM heists.

The WPD said being able to identify the getaway vehicle was a key starting point of this investigation. From there, the suspects were tracked from the vehicle rental in Houston to airline flights out of St. Louis.

The St. Louis Lambert Airport Police Department alarm control dispatchers provided assistance in this case. As the investigation proceeded, Dahlem located flight records indicating one of the suspects had recently scheduled a flight to Des Moines, Iowa. The Des Moines Police Department was notified of the travel plans and conducted surveillance on Townsend and Neloms once they arrived in that city.

Ultimately, Iowa State Police stopped a vehicle occupied by Townsend, Neloms and another subject near the Minnesota border. During that stop, several items were located in the vehicle which indicated these subjects were preparing to commit another ATM theft.

All three subjects were taken into custody for possession of burglary tools.

Obtaining other records related to the suspects’ whereabouts assisted in making a solid case to present to Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb, who charged all three men with multiple felonies. 

Bond was set at $300,000 each.

Prior to the local warrants being issued, Neloms was able to bond out of jail but Townsend remains in custody on WPD charges and several other outstanding warrants for similar crimes allegedly committed in Alabama, Texas and New Mexico.

Other law enforcement agencies assisting in this case included the Troy, Bethalto, Glen Carbon police departments as well as Plymouth (Mich.), Russelville (Ala.), Houston and Illinois State Police.