Grapevine thieves make a quick ATM withdrawal

It's not easy to steal an ATM from a convenience store while it's open and a clerk is at the counter.

But a group of brazen thieves did just that at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. They smashed a window at On The Run (Exxon) on William D. Tate Avenue, used a chain to pull the machine out, loaded it in a stolen van and drove off.

They didn't get far. Minutes later, police stopped a van matching the description of the one used in the theft.

A 24-year-old DeSoto man was arrested, and the ATM was recovered. Officers are looking for three or four others who escaped on foot.