Man gets prison for blowing up Philly ATMs with dynamite, hauling off $417k

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to prison Wednesday for his part in a ring that blew up ATM machines and carted off over $400,000 amid chaos, looting and protests in Philadelphia over a police officer's fatal shooting of a 27-year-old citizen.

Cushmir McBride was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to detonating explosives inside of ATMs at a Target, Wells Fargo branch and Wawa stores from October 2020 to March 2021.

“McBride and crew carried out a string of violent and dangerous crimes, looking to cash in with a bang,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero in a statement.

McBride was indicted in April 2021 along with Nasser McFall and Kamas Thompson. They all pleaded guilty in separate court hearings. McFall was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. Thompson is awaiting sentencing.

The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said the three are among the people who capitalized on the protests on the death of Walter Wallace Jr., 27, who was shot and killed by Philadelphia Police in 2020.

Men broke into stores, set off explosives

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Joseph Mangoni wrote in McBride's 2021 indictment that the group had broken into a Target, along with others, and detonated an ATM inside on Oct. 28, 2020. They repeated the same steps over the next few days, detonating ATMs at Wawa and Wells Fargo locations in the Philadelphia area until Dec. 2, 2020. McBride faced further charges for blowing up an ATM in March 2021.

Romero said in a statement the men stole around $417,000. Mangoni described the explosives used as "M-type devices," ranging from M-80 to M-1000, with the highest commonly referred to as a quarter to a half stick of dynamite.

The devices are typically hard cardboard tubes filled with explosive material and have a fuse sticking out.

"These devices carry enough explosives to cause serious bodily injury and in certain cases death," Mangoni wrote. "The devices are not legally manufactured, sold, or imported in the United States and are classified as Illegal Explosive Devices under federal law."

Protests ignite clashes between protesters, police

The three men aren't the only ones charged during the dayslong protests. Several others faced charges after Philadelphia Police found a van loaded with explosives one night.

The Associated Press reported more than 90 people were arrested during the protests.

Protests over Wallace's death were often tense as people called for accountability after his family had said police shot and killed him when responding to a mental health call.

The Philadelphia City Council said in a city council update the family settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the city for $2.5 million in 2021.

Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Grace Hauck, USA TODAY.

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter,@KrystalRNurse.