Man Charged With Using Explosives to Burglarize Credit Union & Bank ATMs
Son Nguyen allegedly attempted to blast into California Coast CU’s ATM which yielded a small explosion but no cash.
At 3:24 a.m. on June 8, Son Nguyen allegedly drove up to an ATM outside of California Coast Credit Union (CCCU) on Governor Drive in San Diego.
Instead of bringing an ATM card to withdraw funds, the credit union’s security camera footage showed that the San Diego suspect brought a five-gallon blue plastic container with a white spout to the area in front of the ATM. He then inserted a black PVC hose into the ATM, according to police.
A short time later, a small explosion occurred inside the ATM. Despite efforts to pull money out of the machine, Nguyen left empty handed, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.
San Diego police officers responded to an alarm at CCCU and saw a white PVC pipe connected to a black PVC pipe with two batteries taped to it. They also saw pieces of what looked like a blue balloon around the ATM. Approximately 20 feet from the ATM was another plastic pipe.
A few weeks later, at 2:10 a.m. on June 28, Nguyen allegedly drove up to another ATM in Rancho Bernardo outside of a First Citizen’s Bank branch in San Diego. He then repeated the same process when he allegedly attempted to burglarize the credit union’s ATM, according to federal investigators.
But this time, when electrical components caught fire and smoke started billowing out of the ATM, Nguyen attempted to extract cash from the machine but was, again, unsuccessful.
Investigators used surveillance camera video to track the suspect and his vehicle.
While serving a court-authorized search warrant at Nguyen’s home, investigators found gas, black powder, potassium nitrate sulfur, explosive pre-cursor chemicals, a paper that explains how to make black powder and a firearm, among other equipment and clothing items consistent with those used during the attempts to burglarize the ATMs.
After his arrest, Nguyen appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David D. Leshner on Monday. He was released on a $50,000 bond.
Following a preliminary hearing on Sept. 3, he is expected to be arraigned on Sept. 19 on two counts of damaging property in connection with using explosives on the two ATMs, court documents showed.
READ MORE: Son Nguyen Federal Criminal Complaint