2 Texas men charged after stealing $217k from a Brooklyn Park ATM

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two men from Texas were charged after they stole $217k from a Wells Fargo ATM in Brooklyn Park and led police on a high-speed pursuit.

What we know

Ryan Rashad Powell, 18, was charged with simple robbery and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. While Zacoby OmarrIan Terrell, 19, was charged with simple robbery.

Both Powell and Terrell were arrested on July 19 and are currently in custody, court documents say. Both men have their next court appearance on Tuesday.

How they robbed the ATM

According to the charges, Brooklyn Park police responded to a Wells Fargo bank on Zane Avenue North on reports of an ATM robbery. The ATM technician at the scene said that he came to that location to fix a money jam in the ATM.

The technician told officers two men in ski masks came up to him on foot but arrived at the scene in a white van, court documents say. The men then reportedly told the technician they were going to rob him. The men then took several cartridges of cash out of the ATM and left in their van.

Police then found the van in a nearby apartment parking lot, the complaint states. Officers approached the van and got out of their squad car and pointed their service weapons at the men and told them to get out of the van. The men then sped off, and a police pursuit ensued.

Police pursuit

A high-speed pursuit of the two men lasted about two miles, with many officers following them. Eventually, officers stopped the men using a PIT maneuver, which disabled the men's van, according to the charges.

Powell was the driver, got out of the van and fled. Two other men also fled the van, including Terrell. Powell was apprehended a short distance away, as was Terrell. The third man was not found, the charges state.

According to the complaint, police searched the van and found over $215k in cash, stuffed in duffle bags.

Pattern of men coming from Texas to rob ATMs in Minnesota

Both men are from Texas, with no ties to Minnesota, court documents say. Investigators learned Powell and Terrell stayed at motels leading up to the robbery.

According to the charges, one of the men was heard on a call while in jail telling a family member he was going to flee Minnesota once he was out on bail, therefore a high bail amount was requested.

In the charges, it says the complainant is "aware that numerous groups of males have come up from Texas to Minnesota in recent months to rob ATMs." Court documents also stated that some of these groups of men have put GPS trackers on ATM technician vehicles to find open ATMs.

In February, two different men from Texas faced felony charges after reportedly stealing about $20,000 worth of graphing calculators from stores in the Twin Cities, as part of a multi-state graphing calculator theft ring.