A Chilean national arrested in Southern California this week has been connected to the explosive ATM robbery at San Ramon’s Target store, revealing the incident as part of a sophisticated multi-million-dollar crime spree that spanned three states and netted more than $4 million from financial institutions across the West Coast.
Diego Ananias Arellano Diaz, who also goes by the alias Fabio Cristian Hernandez, was arrested July 29 in Newport Beach and identified by the San Ramon Police Department as one of the suspects responsible for detonating an improvised explosive device at the Target ATM on July 20. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, the explosion occurred at approximately 2:19 a.m. inside the store at The Shops at Bishop Ranch, damaging the interior near the eastern entrance but fortunately causing no injuries.
Part of Sophisticated Chilean Robbery Crew
The San Ramon bombing represents just the latest chapter in what Mercury News describes as a “heist movie”-style operation involving 11 Chilean nationals who systematically targeted vulnerable ATMs and banks across California, Oregon, and Washington between May and October 2024. Arellano was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 31, 2024, but remained at large until his recent arrest.
The crew employed remarkably sophisticated tactics to avoid detection, according to the Danville San Ramon. Members rented short-term vacation properties near their intended targets and used cars obtained through black market sources. They disguised themselves as construction workers, complete with hard hats and safety vests, while carrying blowtorches, cellphone jammers, sledgehammers, and in some cases, explosive devices to breach ATM machines and bank vaults.
Rising Trend of ATM Explosions Nationally
The use of explosives in ATM robberies reflects a troubling trend that has emerged internationally. NL Times has documented similar patterns, with Dutch criminals conducting hundreds of explosive ATM robberies in Germany, Austria, and other countries. The sophisticated nature of these operations suggests organized criminal networks are sharing techniques across international borders…