Man pleads guilty in attack on downtown Naperville restaurant

An Aurora 26-year-old has pleaded guilty to throwing an explosive device into a restaurant in downtown Naperville during unrest that broke out last June.

Diego Vargas pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal count of maliciously attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive device. The charge is punishable by five to 20 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo set sentencing for Sept. 2.

On June 1, 2020, Vargas caused two explosions inside Egg Harbor Cafe on the 100 block of Jackson Avenue in Naperville, federal authorities said.

Vargas admitted in a plea agreement that he tried to steal cash from an ATM in Aurora on the previous day, federal authorities said. Vargas struck the ATM with a baseball bat and a metal pole from a street sign to try and pry it open, authorities said. The ATM, located in the drive-through area of a First Midwest Bank branch in the first block of South Broadway, held more than $50,000 at the time, federal authorities said.