Atlanta police are searching for two robbers and a getaway driver who pulled off a US$150,000 heist at a cheque-cashing store by dropping into the business through the ceiling.
Surveillance footage of the robbery was released by the Atlanta Police Department on Wednesday in an appeal to the public for information about the suspects, who are still at large.
The incident took place on Sept. 3 at the Atlanta Check Cashiers location at 2457 Martin Luther King Junior Drive. The business is fortified with what appears to be bulletproof glass barriers separating customers from the employee area where cash is held. Of course, this security measure did nothing to protect against entry from above, as the security footage shows.
A pair of legs dangle through a hole in the ceiling of a cheque-cashing store in Atlanta, causing a ceiling tile to fall and startling the employee below.
Atlanta Police Department
The first robber crashes through the ceiling just after 8:17 a.m. and falls to the ground, followed by his partner, who lowers himself through the hole and drops to his feet. The first robber quickly makes his way over to what appears to be the only employee manning the store, a woman identified as store manager Teyoka Glenn, by NBC News.
Screengrab of video provided by the Atlanta Police Department showing a masked robber crashing through the ceiling of a cheque-cashing store.
Atlanta Police Department
The masked robbers have Glenn duck behind the row of desks that line the store’s glass barrier so she cannot be seen by anyone in the lobby area. Shortly after, a customer arrives, walks through the front door and approaches the desks. After that, the video provided by police cuts out.
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An incident report obtained by local broadcaster WXIA-TV states Glenn heard one of the robbers talking to a third suspect on the phone, who alerted them that the customer was coming. The robbers told Glenn to get the person out of the store, which she was able to do.
The report adds that the customer had no idea a robbery was in progress. Once they left the store, the suspects began grabbing cash.
Two robbers and a store employee duck out of the line of sight of a customer entering a cheque-cashing business in the midst of a burglary.
Atlanta Police Department
Footage from a different security camera in the store shows the robbers leading Glenn into a back room containing multiple safes. She opens the largest safe and the men begin grabbing stacks of cash and stuffing them into a red Adidas duffel bag.
The final bit of footage comes from a surveillance camera aimed at the side exit of the store, showing the robbers leaving the business with the duffel bag full of cash just before 8:27 a.m.
A manager of a cheque-cashing store opens a large grey safe after two robbers dropped through the ceiling of the business.
Atlanta Police Department
In an under 10-minute robbery, the suspects were able to steal US$150,000, the Atlanta Police Department said.
Police were called to the store at approximately 8:30 a.m, the press release states, shortly after the robbers left. According to the incident report, the robbers took Glenn into the bathroom and duct taped her before leaving. Glenn was unharmed in the incident, NBC News reports.
Glenn told police that the suspects fled in an older model, possible green or black, two-door pick-up truck which was being driven by the third suspect, believed to be the lookout and getaway driver.
Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery to submit a tip to Crime Stoppers Atlanta. A reward of up to US$2,000 is being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest.
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