Two men charged in Hoover ATM theft that included shots fired at officer

Hoover police today announced the arrests of two men in connection with an ATM theft off Ross Bridge Parkway last week that resulted in shots being fired at a Hoover police officer.

Police received a call about a burglary at the Walgreen’s at 5271 Ross Bridge Parkway at 2:17 a.m. on July 12. The thieves hooked up a chain to an ATM inside the store, used a truck to yank the ATM free onto the floor and then carried it outside and loaded it onto a truck.

A Hoover police officer spotted the truck and was trying to stop it when one of the suspects fired several shots at the officer, one of which struck the officer’s vehicle, police Lt. Keith Czeskleba said.

The officer, who was not injured, lost sight of the truck after it continued fleeing with its headlights off. Other officers found the truck abandoned on Alabama 150 near the intersection of Pyne Drive, with the ATM still in the bed of the truck, Czeskleba said. The money was still in the ATM, he said. The truck was reported stolen out of Midfield last month.

Bessemer police the same day arrested 33-year-old George Franklin Staples III of Fairfield, who was found walking near Shady Grove Baptist Church, not far from where the suspects’ vehicle was located. Staples initially gave police a false name, but was later identified, Czeskleba said.

A second man, Eddie Charles Medley, 35, of Bessemer was arrested at 10:27 a.m. this morning by the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force in the 2800 block of John Bryan Road Southwest in Birmingham, Czeskleba said.

Each man was charged with attempted murder, burglary, theft and receiving stolen property. Staples also was charged with obstructing justice using a false ID.

Both men are in the Jefferson County Jail with bonds set at $1,070,000 for Staples and $1,050,000 for Medley.

“We’re glad to get these guys off the street,” Czeskleba said.

The alarm company for the Walgreen’s at first reported that three men were seen stealing the ATM, but further review of surveillance video showed only two men there, Czeskleba said. There may have been other people involved in the planning and execution of the burglary, but police are not actively looking for anyone else at this point, he said.

The Hoover Police Department would like to thank the Bessemer Police Department, Pelham Police Department and the U.S. Marshal’s Service for their assistance in this case, Czeskleba said.