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2 charged in dramatic ATM heist using stolen utility truck, Lake City police say

Andrew Brown, 22, and Ahkeim Griffin, 20, both charged with grand theft

Andrew Brown and Ahkeim Griffin are charged with grand theft in connection with the dramatic heist of an ATM using a stolen utility truck, Lake City police said. (Provided by Lake City Police Department)

LAKE CITY, Fla. – The Lake City Police Department announced two arrests Thursday in connection with a dramatic heist of a bank ATM last month, and they said more arrests are expected.

Andrew Brown, 22, and Ahkeim Griffin, 20, are each charged with grand theft. Brown was arrested Thursday by the Lake City Police Department and Griffin was arrested Thursday by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

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The day of the heist, Lake City police officers responded to a bank alarm at the Ameris Bank on US 90 just before 5 a.m. July 21 and found the ATM near the drive-thru had been ripped from its foundation and dragged through the parking lot and grass, heading down the street.

RELATED: After ATMs stolen from 3 Jacksonville Beach hotels, police search for suspects

Shortly after, another officer spotted a white utility truck headed north just a few minutes away on NW Bascom Norris Drive -- dragging an ATM behind it.

Ameris Bank ATM theft scene (Provided by Lake City Police Department)

When the officer tried to pull the truck over, the two people inside ran off into a wooded area.

It turns out the truck used in the would-be heist was also stolen, according to police.

The Lake City Police Department called in help from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the Baker Correctional Institution’s K-9 Unit, the Florida Highway Patrol’s Drone Unit and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Air Unit.

Despite the all-hands-on-deck search, the two were not found at the time.


About the Author
Francine Frazier headshot

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.

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