Police: LI Man Drives Stolen School Bus To Queens After Stealing ATM With Bare Hands

WESTBURY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man was arrested after allegedly stealing an ATM machine, loading it on a stolen yellow school bus and driving the vehicle into Queens.

According to police, David Hughes, 61, of Westbury, smashed the window of a Bravo Supermarket at 306 Post Avenue in Westbury and physically dragged the store's ATM machine out of the store before placing the machine on a yellow school bus that was parked in front of the building. Hughes then got in the bus and drove away, police said.

Exclusive surveillance obtained by CBS2 shows the school bus pulling into the supermarket around 5 a.m. as the driver peers in the doors and eyes the ATM. He tries to kick the door in, but when that doesn't work he gets a large rock and smashes the glass and then climbs though the broken door. After a couple of minutes he topples and wrestles the machine to the ground and manages to lift and shove it out the broken door, CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported.

Store manager Victor Perez said the ATM weighed about 500 pounds and had as much as $3,000 in it.

"I was surprised to see he was 61 years old. I don't know how he could lift an ATM so heavy."

Police managed to locate the bus, which had reportedly also been stolen, at Springfield Boulevard near the Grand Central Parkway in Queens.

Police arrested Hughes without incident. He is facing charges of burglary in the 3rd degree, grand larceny in the 3rd degree and grand larceny in the 4th degree.

The ATM was also recovered.

Police investigation revealed Hughes was also responsible for a July 2013 burglary of another Westbury convenience store.

Hughes is expected in court on Saturday.