A bank customer was arrested after allegedly using a hammer to pound on an ATM after he could not get his card back.
Employees of the Bank of America, located at 401 North 14th St., were in a meeting a few minutes before 9 a.m. Saturday when they heard loud noises and yelling outside of the bank. When they looked out the window, they saw a man yelling at the ATM and rocking it back and forth while demanding in a loud voice that the machine give his card back, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The man went to the back of a white pickup truck and retrieved a hammer, which he used to beat the ATM machine. After striking the ATM several times, he got into his truck and drove away. Leesburg police arrived on the scene shortly after the employees called 911.
Damage to the ATM was estimated to be $3,000. The bank employees provided photos of the man and his truck. The police ran the plate number of the truck which came back as registered to an electrician, 56-year-old Del Michael Scotti, who resides at 1514 Flora Lee Drive in Leesburg.
When the officers went to Scotti’s home, he met them at the front door and immediately said, “You must be here because of the ATM.”
He went on to say that he became very frustrated when he could not get the ATM to return his bank card.
Scotti was placed under arrest on a charge of criminal mischief over $1,000. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $2,000 bond.
