Georgia man charged with blowing up ATM at DeKalb County mall, now faces federal charges – WSB-TV Channel 2

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A man indicted by a DeKalb County grand jury for blowing up an ATM at a mall in the county now faces federal charges.

Abdurrahim Jalal, 53, was charged in July with using a destructive device to destroy a building, arson and theft by larceny, and manufacturing a destructive device.

Prosecutors said at the time that he blew up the ATM to steal the cash inside.

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Now the US Department of Justice has filed charges over the same incident.

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According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Jalal allegedly used a pipe bomb to damage and gain access to an ATM at the North DeKalb Mall around 3:11 a.m. on March 29. According to police, he managed to break into the ATM and withdraw a large amount of cash.

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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Jalal was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 12 and made his first court appearance on Tuesday to answer the federal indictment.

“The unlawful use and possession of explosives poses grave danger to our citizens and first responders who must risk their lives to respond to these violent crimes,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement. “This indictment is the culmination of investigative work by a team of federal and local law enforcement agencies who recovered bomb materials from Jalal’s home and may have prevented further explosions.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the indictment accuses Jalal of blowing up an ATM and possessing illegal explosive devices.

The Justice Department said Jalal’s attempt to blow up the ATM at the North DeKalb Mall Bank of America branch resulted in him stealing about $88,000 from the machine’s vault.

After Jalal was identified by investigators, they obtained a search warrant for his home, where the Justice Department said they found additional destructive devices.

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