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Burglars trash D's Diner, get away with ATM

Thieves caused tens of thousands in damage during theft at diner in Plains Township.

PLAINS, Pa. — In surveillance video, you can see a man wrapping a chain around an ATM. Then, the ATM disappears.

That's because it was yanked away by a truck causing thousands of dollars of damage to D's Diner in Plains Township.

"Somebody stole a truck from Coccia Ford and chains came over here wrapped it around the front of the building, ripped out the ATM and ransacked the inside, did a lot of damage inside the diner," said owner Dan Mellier.

"I couldn't believe it. This is the last thing everyone needs, especially with everything being closed. It just seems like everybody's going through a hard time, and now we got to deal with people breaking in and robbing people," said long-time customer Mike Leahy of Plains Township.

The owner tells Newswatch 16 there is a lot more damage than what can be seen from the outside.

The people who broke in tore up the place and destroyed a $13,000 point of sale system.

"It's heartbreaking that you know somebody would come in here and do something like this," Mellier added.

Police say the man in the surveillance video is Daydrian Burroughs of Exeter. 

Burroughs has been charged with burglary, theft, and trespassing. 

Investigators tell us they are looking for at least one other person believed to be involved.

The owner says he was thinking about reopening the diner when outside seating is allowed in Luzerne County in the governor's "yellow" phase, but now he's going to have to wait until well after Luzerne County is in the "green" phase before he can reopen his doors.

"We're going to be delayed. Even if we do go into the green, obviously we can't open, we're going to be delayed. The building has numerous thousands of dollars worth of damage structural damage," explained Mellier.

"It's hard-hitting on them right now, especially with this virus and being closed. So now this is more of a strain for them 'cause now all the expenses they have to put out after being closed since this virus hit," said Leahy.

Police in Plains Township say they are looking for at least one other person believed to be involved in the theft.

Burroughs is locked up in Luzerne County in lieu of $250,000 bail.

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