RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA – Two men responsible for a series of in which they used power tools and a truck to forcibly open safes inside drive-up ATMs at facilities operated by JP Morgan Chase Bank have plead guilty to conspiracy in connection with the theft of nearly a half million dollars, officials said.
The two admitted to trying to break into Chase Bank ATMs in three counties 15 times over a six-month period.
David Joseph Silva Jr., 25, of Fontana, plead guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank larceny, a charge that carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
Silva will be sentenced in February.
Last Monday, James William Costilow, 38, of Riverside, pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge. Judge Bernal scheduled Costilow’s sentencing hearing for February.
The pair successfully got into the safes inside ATMs on four occasions and conspired to steal approximately $462,093 in cash. In some of the thefts, the pair stole the entire ATM device, while in later attempts they used power saws or a “jaws of life” device to gain access to the safe inside the ATMs.
Silva and Costilow were arrested on September 22 after an unsuccessful ATM robbery in Murrieta, in which they first attempted to cut the hinges on the safe doors and then tried to pull the doors off with a truck. The attempt failed when the bumper came off the truck.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Murrieta Police Department.