Harrah's Cherokee Spree

[FAA]

Pipe-Bomber Gambled Stolen $90K at Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River, Gets 14 Years

A Decatur, Ga., man who used a homemade pipe bomb to blow up a mall ATM and steal $90,000 from the vault has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Abdurrahim Jalal, 55, targeted the Bank of America ATM at North DeKalb Mall in Decatur at 3:11 a.m. on March 29, 2023. He then “embarked on a multiday gambling spree at a North Carolina casino,” federal prosecutors said. Jalal, a landscaper, was found guilty of bank theft, use of an explosive to commit a felony, arson, and two counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device following a trial in June.
Investigators who analyzed security footage from B of A observed a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt, cloth mask, and distinctive rectangular glasses approach on foot with a spray can. The suspect then attempted to spray one of the cameras before disappearing from view. Shortly after, he reappeared on camera driving a black Lincoln SUV. He exited the vehicle with what appeared to be a pry bar, which he used to make a hole in the ATM.
He then inserted two blue hoses extending from the vehicle into the machine, believed to feed an accelerant inside. Next, he fixed a metal pipe to the exterior and walked away. Seconds later, the bank’s cameras stopped recording, which investigators said was likely the moment the device was detonated. Using security footage from other businesses nearby, investigators captured the SUV’s registration plate, which turned out to have been stolen recently from another vehicle. However, by widening the timeframe of their search, they later spotted an identical SUV on nearby cameras, this time with a plate registered to Jalal. When the FBI raided his home, they found eight more homemade pipe bombs. Prosecutors believe he was planning to rob more ATMs.

After the robbery, Jalal made several trips to Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino, near Murphy, N.C., a 2½-hour drive from Decatur, where he exchanged stacks of $20 bills for casino chips. Although this would be consistent with an attempt to launder the money, court documents do not state this was the case, and he was not charged with money laundering. In a final twist, Atlanta News First reports that after Jalal’s arrest, police were contacted by an attorney who said he was representing a young man who had found human remains on his father’s property in Duluth, 35 miles NE of Decatur. Investigators later confirmed the remains belonged to a woman, though her identity and the circumstances of her death have not been disclosed. The discovery prompted another search of Jalal’s home, but authorities have not explained any connection to the case.