Charges: 4 Texans and Twin Cities man lassoed Roseville bank ATM holding $5K, freed it with pickup

Four Texans partnered with a Twin Cities cohort to lasso a Roseville bank's ATM filled with thousands of dollars in cash and yank it from its mooring with a pickup truck, according to charges filed late Wednesday.

Police say the FBI is looking into Tuesday's ultimately failed heist because it bears a striking resemblance to crimes committed elsewhere in the U.S. by the Texas-based "Hook and Chain Gang."

This is not the first rodeo for one of the defendants in this case. Christopher E. Merchant, 23, of Houston, pleaded guilty to being among several others who targeted two bank ATMs in Tampa in July 2021 under nearly identical circumstances.

Merchant was sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison, given nine months' credit for time served after his arrest and then was released once his term was up. He was on court-ordered supervised release at the time of the ATM assault in Roseville.

Along with Merchant, charged in Ramsey County District Court with theft and property damage were fellow Houstonians Larry D. Gill, 23; Kenneth D. Brown, 23; Leonard D. Williams, 25; and Dekorius Durham, 22, of St. Paul.

"It should be noted," the criminal complaints against all five defendants read, "that there have been more than 50 thefts matching this method of operation since 2021."

The complaint also pointed out that police believe Brown and Williams were in an SUV together staking out a credit union's ATM in St. Louis Park less than an hour before opting to go after the ATM outside the Great Southern Bank in Roseville near County Road B2 and N. Fairview Avenue.

Bank video surveillance captured Merchant taking a crowbar to the ATM before he and Williams connected it to chains attached to the nearly 3-ton pickup, the charges read. Gill joined in trying to lift the ATM, but it fell over and never left bank property, the charges continued.

According to Wednesday's complaints:

ATM alarms went off about 4 a.m. outside the bank in the 1800 block of County Road B2. Police arrived just as a pickup truck was leaving the bank's parking lot with Brown driving.

The officer activated his squad's emergency lights in an effort to pull over the pickup, but Brown drove over the median and a large rock while trying to evade capture. He fled from the still-moving pickup, which soon crashed into a car and a yellow bus.

After a "lengthy foot chase," Brown was arrested, and police soon determined that the pickup had been stolen two days earlier.

Back at the bank was its heavily damaged ATM machine lying in the parking lot and still holding more than $5,000 in cash.

Thanks to the seizure of a hotel key by police from one of Brown's pockets, officers went to the nearby Key Inn. The clerk said Brown's Texas identification was used to make a reservation, and four other men had just entered that room.

Police went to the room and ordered the men to exit with their hands up. The men closed and locked the door in response, then continued ignoring police demands that they surrender. A few hours later, police entered the room through a window and arrested Merchant, Gill, Durham and Williams.

The five appeared in court Thursday morning and were granted public defenders. All remain jailed as of Thursday afternoon in lieu of posting bail. Merchant's was set at $15,000, while bail amounts for the others were set at $5,000.

Williams is due back in court on Dec. 28, while Merchant, Gill and Durham have Jan. 2 hearings, and Brown has a Jan. 9 court date.