A Texas man is locked up in the Anderson County Detention Center after deputies say he broke into a Wells Fargo ATM outside a Belton Ingles supermarket and made off with a large amount of cash. Marlo Andre Theriot of Houston now faces a safecracking charge under South Carolina law.
Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the Ingles parking lot in Belton on February 7, 2026, after the ATM was forced open and sustained extensive damage, according to WYFF News 4. Deputies said a Texas man broke into the machine and stole a substantial sum of cash, though authorities have not released additional details about how the break-in was carried out or exactly how much money was taken.
Detectives Track Suspect to Houston
Detectives eventually identified Theriot as the suspect and obtained warrants in April charging him with safecracking, grand larceny of $10,000 or more, and malicious damage to property valued at more than $10,000, per the same account. He was arrested in Harris County, Texas, and was extradited to Anderson County on June 5 and served with the outstanding warrants.
The Anderson County Sheriff's Office confirmed Thursday that Theriot had been extradited and served with the warrants, and he remains in the Anderson County Detention Center on $100,000 bond. Authorities have released no other details about the case, including whether investigators believe anyone else was involved in the break-in or the trip from Texas to South Carolina.
Steep Penalties Under South Carolina Law
The charges against Theriot include grand larceny involving cash or property valued at $10,000 or more and malicious damage to property valued at more than $10,000.
Safecracking is one of the three charges against Theriot. No sentencing figure is provided for the three charges.
A Costly, Persistent Crime Trend
Physical ATM break-ins like the one in Belton remain destructive even when they represent a shrinking slice of overall ATM crime. Financial industry security data compiled by ABA Insurance Services shows that physical attacks on ATMs yield an average cash loss of $27,000 per incident, while replacement costs can run upwards of $50,000, according to a report from NextBranch. FBI bank crime statistics cited in that same report recorded 254 physical ATM thefts nationwide in 2021, up sharply from just 31 incidents in 2019.
Industry crime reporting through late 2025 found that physical break-ins now account for less than 10% of total reported U.S. ATM crimes, as cyber-based “jackpotting” software attacks have grown to represent more than 70% of incidents, according to a report from ProSight. Even so, ATM heists remain a concern, with hook-and-chain attacks carried out overnight between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., when foot traffic is minimal and vehicles can approach unimpeded, according to commercial security analysis from NationalLink cited by NextBranch.
