Police identify suspect in ATM heist at Acworth gas station

Nearly two months after an ATM at a Cobb County gas station was whisked away in a stolen U-Haul, police have identified a suspect.

Wilbert Demond Holmes Jr., a 22-year-old from Alabama, has been named a suspect in the May 25 incident by Acworth police, according to a news release. The theft occurred around 4:30 a.m. at the Texaco Food Mart at 4739 Main Street.

Surveillance footage showed a man breaking the glass door, then trying to yank loose an ATM that was bolted to the floor. When his attempts were unsuccessful, he backed a white Ford Transit U-Haul van through the store, knocking the machine loose. He then loaded the ATM into the back of the van and sped off.

Officers later found the van abandoned outside a store along Canton Road. They confirmed it had been reported stolen.

Investigators from Acworth and the LaGrange Police Department collaborated and linked two incidents from each jurisdiction, authorities said, leading to Holmes’ identification as a suspect.

Holmes, who remains at large, has been charged with burglary, theft by taking and two counts of criminal damage to property. Police said he was last known to drive a 2004 Saturn Ion with Georgia license plate CSG4306.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Acworth police at 770-974-1232.