Four sentenced to federal prison for daring ATM heist spree

ORLANDO, Fla. – Four men have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a series of ATM thefts that resulted in the theft of nearly $600,000.

United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced the remaining four defendants last week. Each individual previously pleaded guilty to bank burglary for their role in the thefts, which targeted five banks in Central Florida and resulted in $593,650 being stolen and over $100,000 in damages to the five ATM machines.

Sentences for the four men are, on average, under three years. They are as follows:

• Deontrae Walden, 23, of Orlando, is sentenced to three years and six months
• Aqunis Green, 24, of Houston, Texas, is sentenced to 18 months (consecutive to 46 months imposed on a related case in Texas)
• Carlos Tawan Reed, Jr., 23, of Orlando, is sentenced to four years and three months
• Wendell Harp, 24, of Orlando, is sentenced to two years and six months

Court records say that Walden, Green, Reed, and Harp broke into five Chase Bank ATMs in the Orlando area during the crime spree. During each break-in, the men used a stolen pickup truck with chains attached to rip off the ATMs’ casings and steal the cash boxes.

Green is said to have come to Orlando and shown Walden how to do the first two crimes. On October 26, 2021, they took $104,000 from a bank ATM on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. They stole a total of $158,000 from a bank ATM on Conroy Road in Windermere on November 11, 2021.

Green is serving a 46-month federal sentence in the Eastern District of Texas for the same kind of behavior. His 18-month sentence in Texas will run at the same time as his previous sentence there.

According to court records, Walden burglarized two more bank ATMs on November 14 and December 18, 2021.

During the November 14 offense, Walden stole $108,140 from the bank on South Semoran Boulevard in Orlando. During the December 18 burglary, Walden netted $107,180 from the bank on State Road 436 in Casselberry.

In the fifth heist on May 26, 2022, Walden reportedly recruited Reed and Harp to help him burglarize the ATM located on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. They stole $116,650 but were caught by law enforcement officers who were surveilling them.

They were being chased by deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on the ground and in the air. Reed didn’t stop, so the police gave chase at high speed. The chase ended when deputies used spike strips to stop Reed’s car. Reed, Harp, and Walden got out of the car and tried to run away on foot, but they were caught quickly. The money that was stolen in the fifth break-in was found in the car by the deputies.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Police Department, the Casselberry Police Department, and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta prosecuted it.