Two men have been arrested on charges of forgery and possession of marijuana after allegedly using homemade credit cards to withdraw money from local ATMs.
Thomas Abebe, 22, and Urael Tedros, 21, both of Seattle, Wash., were arrested Monday, said Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for Texarkana, Texas, Police Department.
Officers recovered about $6,000 in cash and a large number of the credit cards from the suspects.
Officer Ben Thomes was dispatched at 1:10 a.m. Monday to a suspicious-person call at Red River Federal Credit Union, 4401 Texas Blvd. A representative of the credit union said two men in a silver vehicle were trying to use multiple cards at the ATM. Thomes arrived and discovered the vehicle was still at the drive-up ATM.
As Thomes approached the vehicle and its two occupants, he noticed an overwhelming odor of marijuana, Vaughn said. Thomes then reportedly found multiple blank credit cards and cash inside the vehicle. There was evidence that Abebe and Tedros had made several withdrawals from other area ATMs that same night, Vaughn said. Police believe the bank account information had previously been obtained using skimmers in the Texarkana area and across the country. Both were arrested and taken to the Bi-State jail.
Bond was set at $55,000 for each man. Tedros was released Tuesday afternoon after posting bond, but Abebe remained in custody late Tuesday.