DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Central District of California

For Immediate Release

Monday, August 4, 2014
André Birotte Jr.
, United States Attorney
Contact: Thom Mrozek

Desert Hot Springs Man Who Planted Pipe Bombs Near Ex-Girlfriend’s Residence Sentenced to 72 Months in Prison for Explosives Charge

RIVERSIDE, California – A man who left pipe bombs in a residential neighborhood in Palm Springs near the residence of an ex-girlfriend was sentenced today to 72 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of an unregistered destructive device.

Edward Allen Costa, 49, who resided in Desert Hot Springs but was a fugitive for a time last year, was sentenced by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.

Costa pleaded guilty in 2012 to being a felon in possession of a firearm as a result of evidence obtained during an investigation into the pipe bombs. He was sentenced to a year in prison and was finishing his sentence at a halfway house in Rubidoux when he walked away from the facility in August 2013. The fugitive was taken into custody in November 2013 by the Banning Police Department and the FBI.

While a fugitive last year, Costa was indicted for possessing six pipes bombs that were left in Palm Springs from May 8 through May 12 of 2012. "This type of device falls into the general category of "improvised explosive devices," or more plainly, "homemade" bombs, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo that cited the "enormous public safety danger" posed by the devices.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case involving the pipe bombs. The Palm Springs Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department provided substantial assistance.

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Los Angeles Field Division