Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department vehicles had surrounded a rusty white van. The doors of the van were open at around 7:45 a.m., and officers wearing blue gloves were inspecting the contents of the vehicle, which included a large, heavy automated teller machine.

"It doesn't happen very often where the story falls in your lap," said Sgt. Theron "Tam" McCarty.

McCarty said the van was stolen sometime after 2 a.m. from the Alviso offices of ACME Building Maintenance Co. Inc. The fleet manager from the janitorial company could not be reached for comment.

McCarty said the ATM was stolen around 6 a.m. by the male driver of the van from West Valley College in Saratoga. McCarty said the back of the van had a lift platform, which would have made it easy to load the ATM into the van.

A second subject was seen by witnesses at West Valley College, but McCarty said the second subject wasn't in the van at the time it was stopped. Officials have no leads as to where the second male suspect may have gone.

The machine operated by Valley Credit Union had been bolted to the ground near the campus center and cafeteria, said Natalie Sweet, an investigator with the community college's district police. Sweet said more than $20,000 was in the ATM at the time it was stolen, and it was the only ATM on campus. Sweet was unsure whether any district officers were patrolling the campus at the time of the theft.

She added that this is the second ATM theft within the college district in the past month, with another ATM also maintained by Valley Credit Union taken from Mission College in Santa Clara.

Officer Steve Wahl was working the midnight shift when he initially noticed the male driver playing "cat and mouse" to avoid him by darting in and out of parking lots. The driver was coming from the direction of Saratoga. McCarty said Wahl caught up with the suspect at the Shell gas station on Highway 9, making the first stop at 6:51 a.m., according to dispatch.

"The driver made a really fast turn into the gas station," McCarty said, which caused Wahl to become more suspicious of the driver and continue pursuit.

The driver of the van—who was not in possession of a gun—then pulled into the Los Gatos Weekly-Times parking lot and opened the driver's side door as if to get out of the vehicle. But instead he crawled across the front of the van, exiting via the passenger's side door.

The suspect jumped the fence of the parking lot, crossing through a few backyards while Wahl pursued them on foot. Finally, the suspect reached the intersection where Tait and Almendra avenues meet the Los Gatos Creek.

"He jumped into the creek and twisted his knee and was unable to continue," McCarty said.

The suspect, who had two warrants out for his arrest, was then taken into custody at the Santa Clara County Jail. McCarty said he was arrested on charges of possessing stolen property, resisting arrest, delaying a peace officer in the performance of duty, possessing a stolen vehicle and possessing burglary tools. The tools included skill saws, a 4-foot-long crowbar and pulleys. McCarty added that the van had a "punched ignition," meaning it was started illegally by jamming a tool into the ignition.

McCarty and Sweet said they will continue to investigate whether this incident is related to the prior ATM theft at Mission College. McCarty also said they will be working in conjunction with Mountain View police to investigate whether this incident is related to a prior ATM theft at Shoreline Amphitheater.