Cash recovered from the suspects.
At least two Lawrence men face stolen vehicle charges in Haverhill and Andover in connection with a “multi-state ATM robbery operation” in which they are accused of stealing more than $400,000 during 10 break-ins since October, 2015.
David Barker, 39, and Efrain Montero, 40, both of Lawrence, were arraigned in Lawrence District Court Monday on “multiple counts of larceny, conspiracy and receiving stolen property,” according to Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett. They were arrested Monday by Massachusetts State Police and Lawrence Police after a 10-month-long investigation by communities across four states, including Haverhill and Andover. Locally, according to a 63-page affidavit, Barker, Montero and two other suspects, Ricardo Tejeda and Jonathan Santos, are charged with, among others, receiving a stolen motor vehicle related to a March 13 incident in Andover. In a separate count, Montero was also charged with receiving a stolen vehicle allegedly used in an Oct. 18, 2015 robbery at an Apple products store in Mansfield and later abandoned in Haverhill.
“At least two persons were involved in entering the Simply Mac store. The suspects wore gloves, masks and non-descript dark clothing,” wrote Massachusetts State Police Trooper Christopher St. Ives. “At some point, the suspects stole a Ford Econoline van from a neighboring business in Mansfield. That Ford van was then discovered a few days later abandoned in a parking lot at 7 Hunter’s Run Place, Haverhill. Investigators believe that the suspects used the van to transport the stolen merchandise from Mansfield to the Lawrence area.”
Later, on March 13, according to St. Ives, a 2004 Dodge Caravan minivan, reported stolen out of Andover, was used during an attempted robbery of a Santander ATM, through an adjacent unoccupied storefront, in Wellesley. “Investigators learned that it was stolen from American Training Incorporated, 6 Campanelli Drive, Andover.”
“The (Wellesley) store was next to a Santander ATM. A hole was cut in the wall from the store into the back room of the ATM. Though the ATM was cut with power tools, the vault within the ATM machine where the cash is stored had not been comprised and it appeared that the suspect(s) fled upon officers discovery of the break. A 2004 Dodge Caravan (later reported stolen out of Andover) was backed into a parking spot next to the store where the break-in occurred.”
Several items reported stolen during the Mansfield break in were “registered in the recent months to individuals who reside in the Lawrence, Mass. area,” according to St. Ives.
“This affidavit pertains to a state-wide investigation of a breaking and entering crew that is suspected to have committed sophisticated thefts targeting retail stores and ATMs,” St. Ives added. “The crew is skilled and well organized. To facilitate the logistics of the crimes, the suspects commit multiple motor vehicle thefts and use the stolen cars for transportation and employ counter-surveillance. The conspiracy is believed to include multiple members. Four suspects have been identified, and collectively nine break-ins through New England have been linked to members of this group.”