The Twin Falls Police Department’s criminal investigation division announced Thursday that it has arrested a suspect who is believed to have been involved in burglarizing an automatic teller machine at the College of Southern Idaho, as well as several others at colleges and universities in the western United States.
The investigative work by the Twin Falls Police department led to a multi-agency investigation, which included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, that spanned four states and at least five campuses.
The investigation began on July 23, 2012 after Twin Falls police found that an ATM machine had been moved from the Student Union Building at the College of Southern Idaho into a janitorial closet, where the money was removed from the machine. The ATM machine was FDIC insured.
Detectives with the Twin Falls Police Department learned of similar burglaries at other campuses in western states, which included Corban University, Boise State University, Idaho State University and Dixie State College of Utah. Detectives found that similar methods for entering the ATM machines were used in all five cases.
Detectives believe the suspect may have targeted other ATMs on other college campuses, but they are waiting to conclude the investigation before identifying those schools.
In January, detectives were able to locate the suspect in Arizona, where he was taken into custody on Jan. 26. The suspect is a resident of Utah. Detectives are not releasing additional details at this time because the investigation is ongoing.
“We are continuing to work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine the extent of the charges that will be filed against the suspect,” said Detective Ben Mittelstadt, Twin Falls Police Department. “We will release more information as it becomes available.”