He Stole ATMs. Got Married. Then They Stole ATMs: Cops

Matthew Dale Bush, 38, and wife Crystal accused of crime spree
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 8, 2018 12:30 PM CDT
He Stole ATMs. Got Married. Then They Robbed ATMs: Cops
A Visa credit card sign is posted with other credit card companies at an ATM bank machine in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

Bonnie and Clyde, eat your heart out. Matthew Dale Bush, 38, was perpetrating a crash-and-drag ATM heist spree across Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware last year when he married Crystal French, 34, and the two committed more robberies together until a bank robbery did them in, federal authorities said Thursday. Bush allegedly started alone by stealing cars and smashing into convenience stores, where he tied or chained ATMs to a truck and dragged them away, the Baltimore Sun reports. Crystal apparently joined him in two Maryland ATM thefts on October 8 and married him a week later. But on the night before they said "I do" Bush is accused of running over Maryland State Police "stop sticks" and fleeing into Delaware on deflated tires as he texted his bride-to-be, "Baby I got three of them on my ass."

Things got tricky when police detained Crystal and she admitted to partaking in some of the ATM heists, authorities say. Police also apparently found a Dodge van with a few damaged ATMs inside. "Just act like you have no idea what’s going on," Bush texted her. "I love you princess." She responded, "I love you too husband. I don't know nothing about nothing." She told him to change his Facebook cover pictures to their wedding shots, which he did, and when Crystal was released she allegedly helped him commit more crimes in Pennsylvania. Finally they were arrested trying to flee a bank robbery on Oct. 23 in Baltimore City. Authorities say they spent money from their crimes on "heroin and other illegal narcotics." They face multiple charges and face up to 20 years—or more for Bush for alleged firearms offenses, the Miami Herald reports. (The alleged perpetrator of an Austin bombing spree was done in by his pink gloves.)

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