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CANTON ATM theft suspect Joseph C. Lugo may have surrendered to Louisiana police, but that doesnt mean he is ready to return to New York state.
My understanding is that he is fighting extradition, Maj. Darryl LeBlanc of the Vermilion Parish Sheriffs Office said following a hearing Thursday in Abbeville.
That means authorities in New York will have to ask Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos office for a gubernatorial warrant seeking Mr. Lugos return. And whenever Mr. Lugo does return to the north country, he will face charges not just in Canton, but in Essex County, where he and another man allegedly attempted to steal an ATM outside Lake Placid the week before they allegedly stole an automated teller machine from the St. Lawrence University campus on Nov. 17.
State Police at Ray Brook said that Mr. Lugo, 24, DeKalb, and his alleged accomplice in the theft of a North Country Savings Bank ATM from St. Lawrences Brewer Bookstore, Brandon D. Crandall, 21, of Canton, also attempted to cut open an ATM located at an NBT Bank location in the town of North Elba. No money was removed in that Nov. 10 incident, but the machine was heavily damaged, troopers said.
Mr. Crandall was arrested in Canton in November and released while his cases are pending.
Officials with North Elba Town Court said both suspects face charges of fourth-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal mischief in the Lake Placid case. Mr. Crandall is scheduled to appear in that court on Monday.
St. Lawrence County District Attorney Nicole M. Duvé said her office will take the Canton ATM theft to a grand jury, although whether Mr. Lugo and Mr. Crandalls cases are handled together or separately is a question of timing that has yet to be determined.