SAN ANTONIO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio felon was sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio to 140 months in prison for two charges related to ATM explosions in September 2025 and his illegal possession of multiple firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, Dustin Jay Ammons, 44, attempted to destroy ATMs at two San Antonio banks on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, 2025. Surveillance video showed Ammons arriving at the banks in a black Ram 3500 pickup truck, wearing black gloves with a skeleton hand design, a black hooded jacket or sweatshirt, dark blue pants, and black and white training shoes, and placing pipe bombs at the ATMs. The footage from both videos also showed explosions that resulted in unsuccessful breaches of the machines.

On Dec. 12, 2025, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a federal search warrant at Ammons’s residence. Inside the garage, agents discovered a homemade explosives lab containing Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN). Agents also located firearms (including a 9mm short-barreled rifle), magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition throughout the house, as well as a pipe bomb in Ammons’s vehicle. 

ATF queried the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) for Ammons and his address, and found no firearms, short-barreled rifles or destructive devices registered to him. Additionally, Ammons does not possess a license or permit allowing him to possess, manufacture, transfer, or ship explosive materials such as PETN.

Ammons has multiple prior felony convictions, including assault/family violence, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of burglary tools, and multiple counts of theft and burglary of a building. On April 30, he pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of transporting explosives. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Ammons to 120 months in federal prison for the explosives charge and 140 months for the felon in possession charge, both penalties to be served concurrently.

The ATF, FBI, and San Antonio Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the San Antonio Arson and Bomb Squad and Bexar County Fire Marshal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wannarka prosecuted the case.

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