SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A felon from San Antonio has pleaded guilty to a 2025 incident where he used pipe bombs in an attempt to destroy Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs).
ATM bombing plea
The latest:
Dustin Jay Ammons, 44, attempted to destroy ATMs at two San Antonio banks on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, 2025, the release from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas says.
Ammons has pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of explosive materials, transport by non-licensee.
What's next:
He faces up to 15 years in prison for the possession charge and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the transport charge. He's set to be sentenced at a later date.
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Bombing investigation
The backstory:
Surveillance video showed Ammons arriving at the banks in a black Ram 3500 pickup truck, wearing black gloves with a skeleton hand design while placing pipe bombs at the ATMs. The footage from both videos also showed explosions that didn't succeed in breaking into the machines, the release says.
On Dec. 12, 2025, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a federal search warrant at Ammons’s home. Inside the garage, agents discovered a homemade explosives lab, the release says. Agents also found guns, magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition throughout the house, as well as a pipe bomb in Ammons’s vehicle.
An ATF request found no reports of guns or destructive devices registered to him. Ammons also does not have a license or permit allowing him to have, make or move explosive materials like PETN.
Dig deeper:
Ammons has been previously convicted of multiple felonies, including possession of a stolen firearm, possession of burglary tools, and multiple counts of theft and burglary of a building.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.