Three Individuals Charged With Trying to Steal Cash From Aurora ATM

CHICAGO — Three men have been charged in federal court with attempting to steal cash from an automated-teller machine in downtown Aurora.

On the evening of May 31, 2020, FERMIN OCAMPO-TELLEZ, DIEGO VARGAS, and MICHAEL GOMEZ, along with other individuals, attempted to remove the ATM from its enclosure in the drive-through area of a First Midwest Bank branch in the first block of South Broadway in Aurora, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The trio forcibly grabbed the machine and Ocampo-Tellez repeatedly struck it with a baseball bat in an unsuccessful attempt to move it, the complaint states.  No money was taken, but bank officials estimated it will cost $30,000 to repair the machine, the complaint states.

The complaint charges Ocampo-Tellez, 27, Vargas, 24, and Gomez, 19, all of Aurora, with one count of conspiracy to commit bank theft.  All three defendants were arrested Wednesday and have made initial appearances in federal court in Chicago.  The investigation remains ongoing.

The complaint and arrests were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI.  The Aurora Police Department and Naperville Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate McClelland.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. sentencing guidelines.