A man was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison on Friday for denoting explosive devices at two ATMs in San Diego in an attempt to steal money from those machines.
Chad Lee Engel, 50, of Chula Vista pleaded guilty to one count of bank burglary and conspiracy to commit bank burglary. He received the same charges as his co-defendant Scott Michel Petri for the attempted burglary on July 4 and Aug.13, 2017.
Prosecutors dropped the charges for both men relating to the use of explosives during a plea agreement.
The pair attempted to detonate an explosive at an ATM outside the California Coast Credit Union on Ruffin Road, South Balboa Avenue but were unable to access money from the machine. They then burglarized another gas station ATM on Aug. 13 on Miramar Road near Kearney Villa Road and fled the scene in a vehicle containing a stolen license plate.
During this event, Engel and Petri drilled a hole in the ATM, filled the ATM with gas, and ignited a fuse, which caused an explosion and damage to the ATM.
The pair were accused of stealing approximately $7,000 from the ATM.
