Man pried open an ATM in North Myrtle Beach, but didn’t take any cash, cops say
A Loris man pried open an ATM in North Myrtle Beach in November but did not take any money, a police report states. The suspect was arrested about a week after the investigation began.
Police were dispatched to Wells Fargo Bank at 1025 S. Hwy. 17 on Nov. 27 after reports that the machine’s metal door had been pried open near the lock, a report states. Officers processed the scene for fingerprints and took photos, according to the report. The internal safe that contains money had not been breached, police said.
North Myrtle police later arrested Douglas Paul Long, 26, and charged him with safecracking.
Long went to the public safety building Wednesday for an interview with police about the incident and said he was trying to get his card that he dropped into the front panel of the ATM, authorities said. The suspect told police he left and came back with a metal object to open the ATM door and then left, the report states.
He then changed his story after police said video surveillance did not show him holding a card when he arrived, police said.
The man said it was not his card, instead one he saw stuck and then retrieved himself, the report states. Long allegedly saw the card was broken and threw it away in a trash can near the ATM. Surveillance shows the machine was closed when Long arrived and visibly open when he left the scene, the report states.
Long gave police a written statement and said he was only trying to get the card from the ATM, authorities said.
When Long then asked to speak with an attorney, police served the warrant for safecracking, the report states.
This story was originally published December 9, 2018 at 2:36 PM.
