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Mesa thieves allegedly used construction equipment to steal ATMs

Investigators identified one of the suspects through DNA recovered from a glove left behind at one of the ATM thefts.

MESA, Ariz. — The Mesa Police Department has arrested three men investigators believe are responsible for using construction equipment to forcibly remove ATMs from businesses throughout the Valley. 

Patrick Intintoli, 41, was taken into custody last week after Mesa police officers allegedly watched him and two accomplices -- 57-year-old Mark Bryant and 53-year-old Brian Groce -- steal a Caterpillar tractor and use the machinery to remove an ATM in Pinal County.

Mesa police said the suspects may be involved in a series of property crimes dating back to last November. Each of the crimes involved the thieves utilizing construction equipment to steal an ATM safe containing cash.

A black glove was left behind at the scene of one of the thefts, which allowed investigators to recover traces of the suspect's DNA. The DNA profile matched with an existing profile stored in police databases belonging to Intintoli, Mesa police said.

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Intintoli had previously served an 11-year prison sentence for theft, state records show. 

Investigators then began watching Intintoli on May 5 and allegedly observed him and Bryant and Groce steal a trailer from a parking lot and use it to haul away a Caterpillar tractor from a local construction site, Mesa police said.

The three men then allegedly drove to a credit union and used the tractor to pry an ATM off the ground. The three suspects returned to Mesa and Groce allegedly visited a Home Depot to buy a saw and high-end cutting blades, Mesa police said.  

When Groce returned to the residence, he and the other two men were taken into custody. The three suspects are facing various charges of burglary and theft, court records show.

"Mesa police detectives are working with several other Valley police agencies with similar crimes to determine if more charges could be forthcoming," the agency wrote in a statement.

RELATED: Former PCSO deputy arrested for allegedly stealing wedding card boxes

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