Charges laid after ATM stolen using small tractor

A 34-year-old P.E.I.man faces multiple charges after an ATM was taken from a convenience store with a small tractor Thursday morning in Charlottetown.

Police received a complaint around3:20 a.m.that an alarm was going off at the Petro-Canada gas station on Malpeque Road, inWinsloe.

When they arrived, police discovered someone had forced open the main door using a small tractor and taken the ATM.

Police say they followed "suspicious tracks in the snow leading to an obscure area" and found a man trying to force open the ATM. They arrested him after a short chase on foot.

"AnRCMPcruiser which was on patrol in the Warren Grove area spotted somesuspicioustracks," said Gary McGuigan, deputy chief, Charlottetown police. They followed up on that lead. As a result, they caught the suspect in the act of breaking into the machine."

Police allege the man stolethe tractor from a business near the convenience store.

They say they recovered the stolen cash, a damaged ATM and a stolen snowmobileallegedly used by the thief.

The charges include possession of break and enter tools, possession of stolen property, break enter theft, and theft over $5000.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Charlottetown sergeant urges people to read Little Black Book of Scams
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |A tale of two Frosty Treats: Kensington gets second location