Boston Man Pleads Guilty To ATM Burglary

BOSTON – A Boston man was convicted today for the 2012 robbery of an ATM in Boston’s South End.

Terry K. Leigh, 47, pleaded guilty to bank burglary. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge F. Dennis Saylor on April 3, 2014.

On Aug. 11, 2012, federal agents and detectives were conducting surveillance on a Bank of America ATM located at 465 Columbus Avenue, Boston, in regards to an ongoing investigation of ATM burglaries. At approximately 9:45 p.m. the agents observed two individuals enter the lobby of an apartment building located next to the ATM. Access to the ATM’s “money room” is gained through a locked security door within the apartment building’s lobby. One of the individuals, later identified as Leigh, was carrying a green duffle bag and wearing a blue hat, a gray shirt, dark sweatpants and what appeared to be a fake black beard. After a few minutes, both individuals left the apartment building’s lobby and exited onto Columbus Avenue. Leigh then reentered the apartment building. The agents, believing that the ATM was about to be robbed, gained access to the building’s lobby and observed Leigh exiting the ATM’s “money room.” Leigh fled up an adjoining staircase and was captured a short time later on the building’s roof. Following Leigh’s arrest, the agents located the green bag containing various cutting tools, the blue hat and the fake beard which Leigh had been wearing. The ATM, which sustained significant damage, contained in excess of $240,000.

Leigh faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution for the damage to the ATM.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.