Man Who Stole an ATM With a Forklift Sentenced to 51 Months After 46-Mile Chase
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa announced that John Fitzgerald Bennett, 56, of Gilbertville, Iowa, was sentenced on November 5 to 51 months in federal prison for credit union larceny. He was also ordered to pay $246,676.46 in restitution and must serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Bennett pleaded guilty on June 4, 2026, to one count of credit union larceny.
In his plea agreement, Bennett admitted that on May 3, 2025, he stole a pickup truck from a home in Waterloo and drove it to a parking lot in Cedar Falls. He then walked down the street and stole a forklift from a construction site. He drove the forklift to a first credit union and tried to lift an interactive teller machine, but the machine tipped over. He then drove to a second credit union and successfully used the forklift to steal an ATM, moved it into the back of the stolen pickup truck and drove away.
Officers responding to alarms from both credit unions found Bennett in the stolen truck. He fled and led officers on a high-speed chase, including on Interstate 380, for approximately 46 miles and 40 minutes, reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone. Officers deployed multiple sets of stop sticks, deflating most of the truck's tires, until the damaged truck ground to a halt on its rims and running boards, with the stolen ATM still in the back.
Bennett has a prior federal conviction for credit union burglary and credit union larceny. Chief U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams sentenced him in Cedar Rapids. Assistant U.S. Attorney Devra T. Hake prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, the Waterloo Police Department and the FBI. The case file number is 25-CR-2068. Bennett is being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa
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