Masked men strike again, stealing another ATM from Houston hotel lobby

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Houston Police are determining if two separate hotel ATM robberies may be connected as the crimes occurred less than 24 hours apart.

Early Wednesday morning, around midnight, police say 5 to 8 men all wearing masks entered the Marriott Courtyard at 9900 Westheimer, picked up an ATM and then left.

By the time police arrived, the thieves were long gone.

"ATM was not bolted down so it made it easy for them to steal it," said Lieutenant Larry Crowson with the Houston Police Department.

Now that brings us to the other hotel robbery where another ATM was stolen early Tuesday morning. Police say seven to 10 men, all wearing masks, walked into the Lobby of the Marriott West Loop near the Galleria in the 1700 block of South Loop West and did the same thing by grabbing the ATM, throwing it into a getaway car and driving away.

"We'll be trying to see if these two crimes are connected," said Lt. Crowson.

Authorities and hotel staff refusing to release any surveillance video to FOX 26, only providing a description that all the men were wearing masks.

A Marriott International Spokesperson releasing this statement:

Over the last two days an ATM machine was stolen from the lobby of two of our hotels in the Houston area. We are grateful that no one was hurt in either incident.  We are working closely with local police and providing whatever assistance we can to aid them in apprehending those responsible for these crimes.  Additionally, we are in touch with our hotels in the area to provide them with important information related to the situation.

General Manager Drew Hayden of the Marriott West Loop released this statement:

As you know, early yesterday morning an ATM machine was stolen from the hotel lobby.  No guests or employees were injured during the incident.  As soon as we were alerted to the situation we immediately contacted the authorities, who responded right away. The police are currently investigating the situation and we are assisting as much as we can.  As this is an ongoing investigation it would be inappropriate to provide further comment.

Houston Police say a White SUV was used at the Marriott Courtyard on Westheimer. Three different vehicles were used at the Marriott West Loop, including two Dodge Magnums and a Chevy Impala.