Ringleader Of Atlantas Notorious Green Team ATM Theft Crew Gets 10 Years Behind Bars

PHOTO:Mugshot of Ovino Harris from previous arrest.

According to U.S. Attorney John Horn, Harris was believed to be the ringleader of a group known as the "Green Team," which operated out of the Pittsburgh area of Atlanta and engaged in various criminal activities, including the theft of ATMs from local businesses. Green Team members would break into closed businesses, attach chains or ropes to an ATM (attaching the other rope end to a van or truck) and then pull the machine from the store.

"Harris and his group were so audacious that they even threatened to shoot a hotel clerk in order to steal an ATM," said Horn. "This group has been dismantled thanks to the tremendous work of the Atlanta Police Department and the FBI."

During the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2013, Harris and four collaborators traveled to the Wellesley Inn Atlanta Airport Hotel where they attempted to steal the ATM from the hotel lobby and threatened to shoot the hotel clerk. Law enforcement was called to the scene, but the men fled before they could be apprehended.

Then, on Dec. 22, 2013, and again on Dec. 27, members the Green Team traveled to a CVS Pharmacy on North Highland Ave. in Atlanta where they attempted to steal the ATM from inside the store.

Harris, who was arrested and arraigned on July 9, 2014, pled guilty and was convicted on Dec. 15, 2015. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Harris was sentenced by United States District Judge Amy Totenberg on March 24 to 10 years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. All six of Harris' accomplices have pled guilty; five have been sentenced and another is awaiting sentencing.