A 45-year-old Waverly man is in the Bremer County Jail Friday, Jan. 3, after he was arrested and accused of stealing an ATM machine from downtown bar The Beach House.
Waverly Chief of Police Richard Pursell stated in an email to the Waverly Newspapers that Jerry S. Hoge, 45, of Waverly, had been arrested on Jan. 3 and charged with suspicion of third degree burglary, a Class D felony.
Pursell said in an earlier interview that police had been contacted at about 8:17 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 2, in reference to the theft of an stand-alone ATM from inside The Beach House bar, located in the 100 block of East Bremer Avenue.
Detrails of the incident had been widely shared on social media, Pursell noted, after an employee associated with the popular watering hole posted security camera footage of the theft onto social media.
"Hoge was transported to the Bremer County Jail where he was booked and held to see the duty magistrate," Pursell stated in an email. "The Waverly Police Department has executed several search warrants and additional charges are pending."
In a telephone interview with the Waverly Newspapers, Pursell said the stealing of an entire ATM machine is "not common."
"We have recovered one ATM before," Pursell said of past incidents he could remember. "And we've investigated ATMs that were broken into. The actual taking of an entire ATM is not common."
At about noon on Friday, Jan. 3, The Beach House was closed and no one responded to knocks at the front door. In the back of the bar, a large particle-wood board had been bolted over what appeared to be a broken window that the ATM was supposedly removed through.
Several telephone messages left for the owner of the bar were not returned by press time.
In video posted on social media, a thin suspect appearing to act alone could be seen finagling the ATM through the window. The suspect reportedly placed the ATM into a motor vehicle before leaving the alley behind the business.
Pursell said an unknown number of witnesses saw the alleged theft.
"There were witnesses in the area as the incident was going on," Pursell added.
The possible sentence for a suspect convicted of third degree burglary in Iowa is a maximum sentence of up to five years in state prison, and possibly a fine ranging from $750 to $7,500.
