A California man has been arrested after being caught on surveillance camera trying, but failing, to steal cash from two ATMs using explosives.
Son Nguyen, 44, of San Diego, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of criminal damage to property.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Southern California, Nguyen was seen on surveillance video around 3:30 a.m. on June 8, driving to the ATM outside the California Coast Credit Union on Governor Drive in San Diego, getting out of his car, carrying a blue five-gallon plastic container with a white spout to the ATM and inserting a black polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic hose into the machine moments before an explosion occurred inside the machine.
However, despite attempts to withdraw cash from the ATM, Nguyen left the scene without withdrawing any cash.
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Son Nguyen, 44, was charged with two counts of criminal damage to property. (Getty Images)
San Diego police responded to the credit union’s alarm and found a white PVC pipe connected to a black PVC pipe with two batteries taped to it, as well as what appeared to be pieces of a blue balloon around the ATM and another plastic pipe.
A few weeks later, around 2 a.m. on June 28, Nguyen reportedly drove to another ATM in Rancho Bernardo, outside a First Citizens Bank branch in San Diego, and repeated the act.
After electrical components caught fire and smoke began coming out of the ATM, Nguyen went back to the machine and tried unsuccessfully to withdraw cash.
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Son Nguyen tried to steal from an ATM but failed. (Getty Images)
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Investigators used surveillance footage to track Nguyen and his vehicle, and then executed a search warrant at his home, where they found gas, black powder, potassium sulfur nitrate, explosive precursors, documents with instructions on how to make black powder, a firearm, and other equipment and clothing consistent with that used in the attempted theft from the ATM.
“Fortunately, these incidents did not result in any injuries or theft of any cash,” U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in a statement. “The chemicals and equipment discovered in today’s searches have also thwarted any future attempts.”
