A Dallas man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for his role in a series of violent ATM thefts across the Eastern District of Texas, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Joseph George Turner, 31, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and received a sentence of 210 months from U.S. District Judge Richard A. Schell on December 3, 2025.
Court documents state that Turner led a group responsible for forcibly removing ATMs from convenience stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area between May 16 and June 1, 2023. The group used sledgehammers to break store windows and then employed stolen vehicles to drag ATMs out of the stores. After taking the machines, they loaded them into vehicles and left the scene. Both the ATMs and vehicles were later found abandoned after cash was removed and divided among those involved.
The case falls under Operation Take Back America, an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime.
The investigation was conducted by several agencies including the FBI’s Frisco Office as well as police departments from Plano, Irving, Dallas, Mesquite, Carrolton, and Grapevine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Johnson prosecuted the case.
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