FBI: Mall of Georgia robbery connected to other recent ATM thefts

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A lunchtime bandit who literally dodged a bullet during an armed robbery Tuesday at the Mall of Georgia has been linked to four other recent ATM robberies.

The gunman made off with an undisclosed amount of money after confronting a Dunbar Armored Car courier servicing an ATM near the cineplex's ticket booth. The courier's associate fired one round at the suspect but missed, Gwinnett police say. No one was injured.

Witnesses say the thief was seen driving off in a late model Buick Lacrosse with chrome wheels and tinted windows.

A look at the other ATM thefts the FBI believes are connected:

*Last Monday at a Snellville Wells Fargo, a courier for a Loomis Armored Car was held up as he reloaded an ATM, the FBI said.

*On Sept. 14, two couriers were robbed while replenishing a Bank of America ATM at 1775 Howell Mill Road. Atlanta police spokesman Otis Redmond said at the time the suspects "were around the ATM" when the armored car pulled up.

*In Cobb County, Southern Polytech State University was placed on lockdown as police looked for two men who robbed a Dunbar guard at the Mex-America Latino Services in Marietta. The men took the guard's money as well as the weapon he was carrying, police said.

*Another Dunbar courier was robbed in Buford on Nov. 11. According to the FBI, the courier was servicing the ATM at the Bank of America at 1500 Buford Highway when two men with handguns approached him.