Thieves crash truck into store, try to steal ATM until neighbor appears

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Would-be thieves stole a pickup Monday morning and then crashed it into the Green Forest Grocery on Township Line Road in an apparent attempt to steal the store's automated teller machine, according to reports.

Just after 1 a.m. Monday, someone stole a pickup truck belonging to 1st Community Bank from Darnell Auto Sales, behind the store, owner Jeff Darnell said.

"They stole it and they came over here [and] rammed the back of the truck through the front doors," Darnell said. "They jumped out [and] tried to load the ATM; it turned over ... and busted it all to pieces."

A neighbor, living across the road from the store, "defended our property here," Darnell said. He said the neighbor chased the thieves away when they left the store.

The neighbor, according to Butler County deputy Adam Mathias' report, was watching television when he heard a loud bang. He looked outside and saw the store was being burglarized. His wife began dialing 911 while he armed himself with a shotgun.

Mathias said the neighbor ran outside, where he yelled at the would-be thieves and fired a shot into the air.

The truck, a Dodge Ram, sped off to the north, Mathias said. Deputies searched the area and found the truck abandoned on Whispering Pines Road.

Darnell credited the neighbor's actions with saving the store from losing any merchandise.

After contacting his landlord, Darnell said, they began "making plans to put it back together."

Darnell said he contacted a contractor, window installer and block layer to begin making repairs. He said he had recently remodeled the store, putting in new ceilings and counters.