The second participant in a foiled plot to steal an ATM from a Fayetteville gas station has been identified, police said.

Arrest warrants have been issued for Nathan Eric Thomas, 38, of Atlanta, according to Lt. Beverly Trainor of the Fayetteville Police Department. Police searched for Thomas beginning yesterday but were unable to locate him, but police were still receiving good leads about Thomas’s whereabouts as of early Friday afternoon, Trainor said.

A Fayette County sheriff’s deputy spotted the heist in progress around 4 a.m. Thursday morning and was able to chase down and arrest one of the participants: Marquez Antoine Anderson, 19, of Atlanta.

The warrants filed against Thomas include burglary, theft by receiving a motor vehicle and two counts of criminal damage to property, police said. Similar charges were lodged against Anderson also, police said.

Police said the pair used a truck stolen from Cobb County to ram their way into the doorway of the Buckner BP gas station at the intersection of Ga. Highway 54 and Grady Avenue. Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Jones spotted the two lifting an item into the truck after the business had closed, police said.

The helicopter and tracking team from the sheriff’s department assisted city police with searching for Thomas after he got away on foot, but the bloodhounds followed the trail of a scent to one location, indicating that he left the area in a vehicle, police said.

Just prior to the incident, Thomas and Anderson had broken into a nearby medical office, pulling the fire alarm in hopes of creating a distraction to allow them to commit the gas station burglary without getting caught, police said.

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