Tracking Device Leads Police to 4 Men Suspected in Fountain Valley ATM Break-In

Police are investigating whether four men booked Wednesday on suspicion of breaking into and stealing a "significant amount" of cash from an automatic teller machine inside a Tustin Rite-Aid are the same men that hit up a Fountain Valley Rite-Aid.

The four allegedly broke into the ATM at a Rite-Aid at 13151 Jamboree Road, according to Tustin police Sgt. Andrew Birozy. Police responded to a burglary alarm at the store at 3:23 a.m., he said.

The four suspects were quickly rounded up, thanks to a GPS device in a piece of the machine the burglars took with them, Birozy said.

The tracking device led investigators to a gas station near Oso Parkway and the Santa Ana (5) Freeway, where two of the suspects were arrested. Two others were stopped a short distance away as they got into a vehicle to drive away, Birozy said.

Police found some of the cash from the ATM in one of the suspect's vehicles, Birozy alleged.

The suspects are Deavan Phillips, 26, of San Diego; Richard Turner, 25, of Spring Valley; Gregory Moore, 32, of San Diego; and Angel Romero, 24, of El Cajon, Birozy said.

Authorities believe the four men may be linked to similar Rite-Aid ATM break-ins in Dana point, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach and Westminster.

City News Service