Man pleads guilty in ATM thefts

OZARK — A 29-year-old Newville man charged with a rash of ATM burglaries in the Wiregrass this summer pleaded guilty on Tuesday for two of the burglaries in Ozark.

Justin Wyatt McArdle pleaded blind to the July 13 burglary of an ATM machine at BP on Highway 105 in Ozark, where he broke the glass on the double doors and hooked a chain around the machine before loading it onto a stolen truck.

The ATM machine and at least one vehicle believed to have been used for the burglary was recovered in a wooded area in Ozark with the help of the Dale County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit.

Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams said McArdle also pleaded blind to criminal mischief for damaging two doors at the HOBO Pantry on Roy Parker Road in Ozark on July 24 while attempting to steal the ATM machine. Adams said McArdle was unsuccessful in stealing the entire machine but was able to pull the part of the machine that held money.

McArdle will be sentenced by Judge Ken Quattlebaum on Dec. 4.