FDLE arrests suspect in ATM thefts
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has announced the arrest of Nasedra Kewon Lumpkin for the theft of 11 Automated Teller Machines in nine Florida counties. Lumpkin, 33, of Pahokee, is charged with grand theft over $100,000, a first degree felony.
The charge stems from a 15-month investigation by FDLE’s Palm Beach Field Office. Investigators allege that Lumpkin took the ATMs by dislodging them from their base with front end loaders stolen from local construction sites. Lumpkin used the buckets on the front end loaders to remove the ATM machines and lift them into the back of a pickup truck. Lumpkin also routinely stole the pickup trucks used in the thefts. FDLE worked in conjunction with multiple local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to track Lumpkin and link the incidents together.
The thefts occurred between January and July 2008 and involved bank ATMs in Palm Beach, Indian River, Polk, Orange, Lake, Osceola, Marion, Seminole and Manatee counties. The amount of cash and deposits stolen totaled over $1 million. The use of the front end loaders to steal the ATMs caused more than $575,000 in damage to the banks.
Lumpkin is currently being held in the Leon County Jail where he was booked after being arrested for the final ATM theft he committed on July 20, 2008 in Tallahassee. During that incident, Lumpkin reportedly originally escaped capture but was located and arrested 10 days later in South Carolina.
Lumpkin will be transferred to Palm Beach County to be booked on the new grand theft charges. The case will be prosecuted by Attorney General Bill McCollum’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.