Two Texas men charged with robbing ATM of $215,000 as it was serviced in Brooklyn Park

Two men from Texas were charged this week in Hennepin County District Court after police allege they robbed a Wells Fargo ATM in Brooklyn Park of $215,000 after a technician opened the machine on a service call.

Zacoby Omarrian Terrell, 19, of Houston and Ryan Rashad Powell, 18, of Humble, Texas, were each charged with felony simple robbery. Powell was also charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.

The complaint alleges this robbery is part of a larger trend of men from Texas coming to Minnesota in recent months to rob ATMs, including by placing GPS trackers on technician vehicles and following them until an ATM is opened, although it’s unclear that was the case in this robbery.

Brooklyn Park police Inspector Elliot Faust said the simple robbery charge stemmed from the fact the two men didn’t use a weapon, but the robbery was well thought out.

“It’s actually kind of intelligent, to be honest with you,” Faust said. “$215,000 is the amount they would have gotten away with, if we hadn’t caught them, so risk vs. reward I can see that being an idea for a criminal vs. say robbing a convenience store.

“There’s a bang for your buck.”

Faust said the Brooklyn Park Police Department reached out to the FBI, who declined to investigate the case.

The Hennepin County Public Defender’s office had no comment on the charges.

According to court documents:

An ATM technician responded to a Wells Fargo ATM on Zane Avenue in Brooklyn Park after being alerted to a money jam in the machine. While servicing the machine the technician was approached by two men who got out of a white Chrysler van in ski masks.

The technician said the approach of the two men led him to believe they planned to rob him and they got away with “numerous cartridges of cash” before fleeing to their vehicle.

When Brooklyn Park police arrived, they canvassed the area and found the van that fled the scene when the officers approached. Powell was driving the car and later fled. Terrell was arrested in the vehicle. A third man was not located.

Inside the van, police found $215,000. Wells Fargo reported losses of $217,000 from the ATM.

Terrell and Powell signed waivers of extradition that would return them to Minnesota if they are arrested out of state. Terrell posted $100,000 bail and was released. Powell remained in custody in Hennepin County as of Thursday morning.

Neither man has any ties to Minnesota and this continues a recent trend of Texans robbing ATMs in the state.

Four Texans were charged with robbery and property damage after lassoing a Roseville bank’s ATM in January. Those four men were also suspected of similar ATM lassoing in Savage, Farmington and Rochester using a tactic that was employed elsewhere in the U.S. by the “Hook and Chain Gang” in Texas. In October 2022, two Texans were charged with ambushing an ATM technician at a U.S. Bank in Edina at 50th and France before getting away with $110,000. Those charges were later dropped due to “evidentiary issues,” according to prosecutors.