An Ohio man is facing five felony charges after Concord police say he tried to hack a bank ATM using a Raspberry Pi — a computer small enough to fit in your palm — before leading an officer on a foot chase through a parking lot at 3 a.m.
A motorist called police just before 3 a.m. on June 21 to report two masked people tampering with the ATM at Cambridge Savings Bank near Concord Center. Officer Michael Crowe arrived and spotted a Honda idling in the nearby Umbrella Arts Center lot, headlights on. A masked man carrying a black backpack bolted from the car and ran across the lot. Crowe took off after him.
Alexander Hernandez Torrealba, 23, of Fairfield, Ohio, fell while running. Crowe drew his weapon and ordered him to stop — but police say he refused, tried to run again, and fought the officer as he was being handcuffed. Two more officers arrived to help finish the arrest. Even then, it wasn't over: on the ride to the station, police say Hernandez Torrealba managed to slip his cuffs to the front of his body and unbuckle his seatbelt.
Bank surveillance footage showed two people trying to break into the machine and attach a card-skimming device before investigators determined they'd used a Raspberry Pi — a single-board computer often used by hobbyists — to actually hack the ATM. Police pulled the device, its battery and the ATM's hard drive as evidence, along with screwdrivers, a drill, latex gloves, a ski mask, several cellphones and forged checks found on Hernandez Torrealba and in the Honda. Torn pieces of black latex found inside the ATM matched a glove recovered near the arrest scene.
A second suspect seen on surveillance footage jumped a fence and escaped; police haven't located that person. Investigators later brought in a regional law enforcement drone to search the area.
Hernandez Torrealba faces charges including breaking into a repository, possession of a burglarious instrument, resisting arrest, possession of a skimming device, and forgery. He was arraigned June 22 with bail set at $250,000 and is due back in court July 20. Capt. Brian Goldman of the Concord Police Department said investigators are working with other agencies to see whether Hernandez Torrealba might be tied to similar incidents elsewhere.
Anyone with information can contact the Concord Police Department.





