The following is a news release from Avery Smith, Ellis Police Chief, posted to social media this afternoon by the Ellis Police Department.
Ellis Police Department
ELLIS - In the early morning hours of 04/05/2022, officers from the Ellis Police Department and Ellis County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Golden Belt Bank, located at 901 Washington in the city of Ellis, for an attempted theft of an ATM.
Upon arrival, officers located the bank's ATM in the middle of 9th Street, still attached to a pickup truck. This pickup was later discovered to be stolen out of WaKeeney, Kansas.
Officers were able to develop a suspect vehicle description as well as a description of several suspects that were involved. Three suspects were later located in rural Russell County in the suspect vehicle that was identified as leaving the scene.
All three suspects were arrested and transported to the Ellis County Jail without incident. All three suspects are facing requested charges for felony criminal damage to property, felony theft, and possession of stolen property.
No further information will be released at this time and the incident is still under investigation.
I would like to thank the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, Russell County Sheriff’s Office, Trego County Sheriff’s Office and the WaKeeney Police Department for their assistance with this case.
Avery Smith
Ellis Chief of Police