A frustrated customer who hammered his bank’s ATM is scheduled to face a judge this week.
Del Michael Scotti, 57, who resides at 1514 Flora Lee Drive in Leesburg, is scheduled to appear this week in Lake County Court.
He has been free on bond since his his arrest Jan. 14.
Employees of the Bank of America, located at 401 North 14th St., were in a meeting a few minutes before 9 a.m. that day 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 Scotti.
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.
