DC Man Sentenced To 5 Years For ATM Bombing Spree Across Maryland, And Washington DC

WASHINGTON — A Washington, D.C., man who carried out a series of pre-dawn bombings targeting ATMs and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia was sentenced Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, to five years in federal prison.

Cahlyl Rollins, 25, received a 60-month sentence in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to four counts of malicious use of explosive materials. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also ordered Rollins to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Prosecutors said Rollins and co-defendant W. Garrett Bragg, 36, carried out four coordinated explosions within about an hour during the early morning of July 2, 2023. Investigators described Rollins as the “trigger man,” responsible for carrying, igniting and placing each explosive device, while Bragg assisted with planning and transportation.

The first blast occurred around 3:53 a.m. at a Bank of America ATM in District Heights, Maryland, destroying the vestibule and surrounding structure. About 30 minutes later, an explosive detonated at a Truist Bank branch on Washington Place NE in Washington, causing $35,933 in damage. Additional devices were set off minutes later at a Nike store on H Street NE and at a Safeway supermarket on 40th Street NE, where employees were inside preparing to open. No injuries were reported.

Authorities said the pair appeared to be testing a method for burglarizing ATMs and retail businesses using explosives. Surveillance footage, license-plate reader data and cell phone records showed Rollins and Bragg traveling between the locations in a metallic Acura sedan displaying Maryland license plates.

Investigators later determined the license plate used on the vehicle had never been legally registered and had been linked to other crimes. Searches conducted in September 2023 uncovered burglary tools, dozens of stolen license plates, large quantities of ammunition and equipment used to steal vehicles.

Bragg pleaded guilty alongside Rollins in September 2024 and was sentenced in May to 84 months in federal prison.

Rollins was arrested in October 2023 in Washington, D.C., while Bragg was taken into custody by U.S. marshals in January 2024.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department, and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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