Four Texas men were arrested Thursday on federal charges accusing them of driving to Oklahoma and Arkansas to break into automated teller machines in Walmart stores, including in Conway and Benton.
The men, all from Dallas, were indicted Jan. 7 by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Arkansas on charges of transporting stolen money and conspiring to transport stolen money. The indictment was filed under seal until the men were arrested.
According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland and Diane Upchurch, agent in charge of the FBI's Little Rock office, the men carried out a scheme from December 2018 through January 2019 in which they rented vehicles in Dallas to drive to the other two states for the purpose of breaking into the ATM machines at Walmart Neighborhood Market stores. It says they used tools and bought gloves to conceal their identities while they conducted the break-ins, and that they communicated by cellphone to orchestrate the thefts.
All four defendants are charged with two counts of transporting $5,000 or more of stolen money. One count relates to a break-in of a machine at a Walmart store in Conway and the other count relates to a break-in of an ATM at a Shell Superstop in Benton. Each defendant is also charged with conspiring to transport $5,000 or more of stolen money.
During the arrests, authorities seized 15 firearms, including eight handguns and seven rifles; about $15,000 in cash; a currency counter; and several crowbars, bolt cutters and heavy-gauge cables with hooks.
The arrested men are identified as Antonio Denard Few, 34; Christopher Landelle Burns, 31; James Darron Miller Jr., 32; and Steven Jadon Williams, 39.
The penalty for transporting stolen money is up to 10 years in prison, and the conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Metro on 01/18/2020