Illinois Duo Arrested as Gaming Parlor Burglary Wave Sweeps State

Two Illinois men accused of ripping ATMs and cash boxes from gaming businesses have been arrested, as authorities across the state grapple with a wave of burglaries targeting video gambling machines.

Reese A. Heckman, 34, of Decatur, and Travis R. Ziemer, 28, of Macon, are accused of a series of break-ins targeting gaming parlors, bars, and other businesses in Central Illinois, according to court documents reported by the Herald & Review.

The methods allegedly used by the pair are similar to those employed by various gangs in a wave of burglaries that have targeted gaming establishments this year, particularly in the Chicago suburbs.

Police allege Heckman and Ziemer typically entered businesses through the roof, cut power, and used sledgehammers and crowbars to attack or remove ATMs.

Their alleged targets included Nellie’s Tavern in Decatur, where an ATM was taken July 17, and Debbie’s Gaming, also in Decatur, where thieves failed to wrench an ATM from the floor July 30.

Phones Lead Police to Burglary

Investigators said cell phone data ultimately led them to the suspects.

Early Monday (September 14), police tracked phones linked to the men to BB’s B.F.E. Bar & Grill in Latham, around 25 miles northwest of Decatur.

The Logan County Sheriff’s Office was asked to check the business and discovered it had been burglarized. The power had been cut, an ATM broken open, and multiple gaming machines smashed and emptied of cash, according to the affidavits.

Heckman and Ziemer were arrested later that morning.

Searches subsequently uncovered burglary tools, gaming-machine money boxes, a stolen Hyundai that had allegedly been repainted from red to black, and other stolen vehicles and equipment, police said.

Detectives said cell phone records showed the pair had traveled frequently throughout Central and Southern Illinois and are investigating whether they could be connected to additional burglaries.

Illinois Gaming Businesses Under Siege

The arrests come amid a massive rise in burglaries targeting Illinois’ enormous network of video gaming establishments.

Illinois Gaming Board data obtained earlier this year by the Chicago Sun-Times showed 502 burglaries had been reported by June 22 — already surpassing the 473 recorded during all of 2025.

More than $1.5 million had been stolen during the first part of 2026, according to the data, with businesses in more than 100 municipalities targeted.

And the attacks have continued.

Police said earlier this month that they believe one crew was responsible for separate robberies of gaming machines in Wheeling, New Lenox, and Peotone. Masked offenders armed with sledgehammers struck the businesses within a roughly 24-hour period.

New Lenox alone had recorded at least 14 gaming-related smash-and-grab burglaries by early September.