This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
A 24-year-old Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for a string of violent bank robberies in December 2024.
In February, Seth Coles-Body, of Houston, pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery and two counts of attempted bank robbery for his role in a scheme to steal from banks by assaulting and threatening ATM technicians, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said Coles-Body was “enjoying a criminal life… The conduct was driven by greed and an appetite for money without considering the overall community.”
Texas men disable ATMs, assault technicians in WA
Coles-Body and Ahmon Hogg, 22, were identified as part of a robbery ring operating in Washington, Oregon, Texas, Arizona, Mississippi, and Maine.
Both men would disable ATMs, and once a technician would show up to fix it, they would threaten or assault the worker to steal cash containers from the machine.
“[Coles-Body] targeted ordinary, hardworking citizens who were simply doing their job, and who now have to live with the fear and trauma that comes from being ambushed and beaten in their workplace,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “Mr. Coles-Body used increasing violence as time went on. Even after several law enforcement encounters, he never slowed down; instead, he celebrated his robberies on social media. This significant sentence is warranted.”
In December 2024, the two men worked together to disable ATMs after the machines were loaded with cash for the Christmas holiday, according to the plea agreements.
The co-conspirators disabled a Bank of America ATM in Renton. After the technician arrived and began to repair the machine, he was forcibly confronted by Hogg and Coles-Body, who brandished a screwdriver.
Demands were made for the technician to open the machine and provide the co-conspirators with the cash containers. After the technician did not open the machine, a “scuffle” ensued, and the technician was able to escape.
The next day in Vancouver, Washington, a technician was sent to repair a Bank of America ATM on S.E. Mill Plain Boulevard. When the technician began repairs, Hogg and Coles-Body went over and intimidated the victim, and grabbed five cash containers filled with money.
The suspects fled in a vehicle, which matched the description of the one seen the previous day in connection with the attempted robbery in Renton.
The DOJ noted that both defendants also admitted to disabling a Bank of America ATM in Battleground the same day.
During active investigations in Washington, Hogg and Coles-Body were identified in connection with ATM tampering cases on January 3, 2025, in the Phoenix area.
In that case, Bank of America and Wells Fargo ATMs were tampered with similarly to how they were in Washington. Hogg and Coles-Body were also stopped by Phoenix law enforcement during an attempted robbery of one of the ATMs they had disabled.
Crime spree spans from WA to Maine over 6 months
On March 7, 2025, the defendants committed another robbery at a Bank of America in Redmond, where an ATM technician was again working on a machine that Hogg and Coles-Body had disabled.
Once the machine was opened, both men ran up and stole the cash containers filled with money from the machine. Five of the containers were later recovered on the shoulder of Highway 520, though they were damaged.
Days later, Coles-Body was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol with roughly $209,000 in cash. The cash was seized, and Coles-Body was released by Border Patrol.
In May 2025, Hogg and Coles-Body were in their hometown of Houston, where they committed another robbery of a Wells Fargo. A repair technician opened up the ATM to conduct repairs and was assaulted shortly after by Hogg and Coles-Body.
Hogg and Coles-Body stole roughly $117,000 from the machine and abandoned their getaway vehicle a short distance away from the Wells Fargo.
In June 2025, both men traveled to Oregon to disable ATMs in Hillsboro and Tigard. As the defendants were in the area, they robbed an ATM customer who had just used a different machine.
The two men then drove from Oregon to Maine. On June 30, 2025, they disabled a Bank of America ATM in South Portland, Maine. As the technician was working to repair the machine, both men ran up and assaulted the worker. Roughly $47,000 was stolen from the Bank of America in Maine.
Leaving Maine for Jackson, Mississippi, they were both arrested after a traffic stop. At the time of their arrest, the two men had stolen firearms and a significant amount of cash in the vehicle.
“For months, Mr. Coles-Body and his co-defendant committed a series of increasingly brazen and violent robberies across the United States, including in multiple locations in the state of Washington,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “They badly injured repair technicians just trying to do their jobs and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Nearly $769,000 in restitution owed to victims
The co-conspirators agreed to pay restitution to the victims, which is currently determined to be $768,900. The men also agreed to pay damages, including medical expenses for all the victim technicians.
The sentencing resolves all cases in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Maine, and Mississippi.
In asking for the high-end 10-year sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda McDowell said in court Tuesday, “These were hands-on robberies carried out with violence and intimidation…. No place in the country was off limits, and this was fun for him. There was no remorse – this was a source of pride and celebration.”
Coles-Body will be on three years of supervised release following his prison term.
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