SAN DIEGO, CA – Chad Lee Engel is facing over a decade behind bars after being sentenced to 138 months in federal prison for a brazen series of ATM bombings across San Diego County. Engel, who pleaded guilty in July 2022, systematically targeted cash machines, using increasingly dangerous methods to crack them open and steal the money inside.
The crime spree began on July 4, 2017, when Engel and an unnamed accomplice detonated a homemade pipe bomb beneath an ATM at a California Coast Credit Union on Ruffin Road. While the blast caused significant structural damage, it failed to expose the cash. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s Metro Arson Strike Team and the FBI, quickly determined the device was a destructive explosive.
Undeterred, Engel escalated his tactics less than a month later, on August 13, 2017. This time, at a Chevron gas station on Miramar Road, he and his partner drilled into an outdoor ATM and pumped in an unknown flammable gas – likely acetylene or propane – before igniting a hobby fuse. The resulting explosion obliterated the machine, allowing Engel to flee with approximately $7,000. Bomb technicians confirmed the use of gas constituted another destructive device.
But the ATM attacks weren’t isolated incidents. Prior to the explosions, Engel and his accomplice attempted other heists. On June 18, 2017, they broke into a Super Laundry in National City, hoping to hit an ATM inside, but only managed to steal $140. A week later, on June 25, they successfully stole the contents of an ATM at a 76 Gas Station on Rancho Peñasquitos Boulevard, loading the entire machine into their vehicle and using a grinder and cutting torch near Fiesta Island to access the cash.
“This is a just sentence for a defendant whose dangerous actions caused significant damage,” stated U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “If you use explosives to break the law, you are going to prison for a long time.” The investigation, a collaborative effort between multiple agencies including the ATF, Metro Arson Strike Team, FBI, and National City Police Department, has now come to a close with Engel’s lengthy prison sentence.
ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Cicolani emphasized the agency’s commitment to combating the criminal misuse of explosives. “ATF is dedicated to preventing and reducing violent crime involving the criminal misuse of explosives, and protecting the public,” she said. While the accomplice in these crimes has not been publicly named, investigators have stated that further charges may be forthcoming.
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