Man tries to smash ATM with hammer: Says machine would not return bank card
A man angry after an automatic teller machine ate his bank card caused a stir in Wal-Mart Saturday when he offered to make a withdrawal using a sledge hammer borrowed from the store’s hardware department.
The customer, Robert Bateman of Ohio, told police he stopped to make a transaction and that the machine had taken his card. Wal-Mart employees believe Bateman left his card in the machine after the transaction and that it was sucked in as part of the bank’s safety measures.
A card is taken into a machine for safe keeping if it is not removed in about 20 seconds of the last transaction. The safety measure is used to ensure a card left accidentally by a customer does not fall into the wrong hands.
Bateman told police he was irritated when bank employees told him they were unable to access the machine and that his card would not be available until Monday. Bateman said he was en route to North Carolina and did not have the luxury of waiting until Monday to get his card back.
After his exchange with bank employees, witnesses said Bateman walked back to the hardware section and picked up a sledge hammer. Bateman was stopped as he walked toward the machine with the hammer, with employees warning him such an action could be deemed as bank robbery — a crime punishable by as long as 20 years in federal prison.
Ironically, had Bateman gone only a few more steps before he was stopped, he could have technically been charged with theft for passing through the checkout lanes without paying for the sledge hammer.
Bateman was allowed to go on his way without charges following a conversation with Wal-Mart security and McMinnville Police. He left without his bank card.