Creative & Caught
Houston's brazen forklift ATM bandit is undone by a little weight problem
- Photo via YourHoustonNews.com
- ...And the U-Haul in the ditch.Photo via YourHoustonNews.com
Well, you can't say that we didn't warn you: Just last month, CultureMap reported that Houston ranked No. 2 in the entire country for heavy equipment theft. We urged you to watch your bulldozers and forklifts.
And now look what's happened.
At 4:20 a.m. on Sunday, Wilson Orphey, 40, stole a forklift, which he used to steal two Bank of America Automated Teller Machines in northwest Houston. He ripped the ATMs out of the ground and put them, and the forklift, in the back of a stolen U-Haul.
Orphey would have absconded with more than $300,000 and a piece of heavy machinery, but — unfortunately for him — the total weight of the stolen items caused the truck to swerve off of the road and roll into a ditch. A foot chase ensued, but Harris County constables apprehended the thief shortly thereafter.
He is now being held at Harris County Jail under charges of criminal mischief and theft, but you've got to admit that the heist was brazen. And innovative.
"This is the first time I've heard of this nature of using a forklift like that," Lt. Mike Combest with Harris County Constable Pct. 4 told KHOU. "It’s quite creative but I guess he didn’t figure on somebody spotting him."