2-28-05 - Five months after pipe bombs rocked downtown Sherman, the two men behind the bombs have pled guilty. Federal authorities say Ed Kosanke and Chris Jones built the bombs for fun – never intending to use them for harm.
Their work came to the attention of authorities in September of 2004, when a pipe bomb blew up late at night outside a downtown business. As the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated, they found a large pipe bomb inside Kosanke’s downtown business – Micro-Pro. They detonated that bomb inside an empty building later that night.
In exchange for pleading guilty to one count of unlawfully manufacturing a destructive device, prosecutors dropped four other bomb-making charges against each man.
Prosecutors say the men learned how to make the bombs from websites. They began by detonating the devices on a relative’s farm.
But Kosanke will be sentenced tomorrow for another federal crime – faking UPC codes at local stores, then buying the merchandise for a cheaper amount and selling it on E-Bay for profit.