Pickup Smashes Through Courthouse in Failed ATM Burglary

Someone drove a pickup truck through the glass entrance of the Tarrant County sub-Courthouse in Arlington on Christmas Eve.

Authorities said the driver was targeting an ATM inside the building but left empty-handed.

"When you're that desperate for money, you'll try anything," Tarrant County Sheriff's Office spokesman Terry Grisham said.

"They got away with breaking a lot of glass and making a great big mess, but the ATM matching was well-anchored," Grisham said.

Arlington police, which are investigating along with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, later recovered the truck .

It is not clear how many people were involved in the attempted burglary.

"It was extremely brazen and, coming on the morning of Christmas Eve, they proved there are still grinches out there and they tried to spoil Christmas for somebody," Grisham said.

However, Grisham also said the crime was brazen but not original.

"That M.O. has been something we've seen before -- where someone drives a vehicle through a glass façade and attempts to steal an ATM machine -- and, in the past, it has been successful," he said.

Earlier this year, a vehicle drove through a sub-Courthouse on Grandbury Road in Fort Worth. In that incident, an ATM was stolen.

The sheriff's office is looking into the possible connection between the two incidents.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477) or Arlington police at 817-459-5600.