Explo officials sentenced; ordered to pay restitution
CADDO PARISH, LA (KSLA) - The United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Louisiana has announced the sentencing for Explo Systems, Inc. officials involved in the 2012 explosion.
On Oct. 15, 2012, there was an explosion in a munitions storage igloo at Camp Minden. It involved about 124,190 pounds of smokeless powder and a box van trailer containing about 42,240 pounds of demilitarized M6 propellant. The explosion destroyed the igloo and the trailer, derailed 11 rail cars near the site and shattered windows on houses in neighboring Doyline and up to four miles away from the area.
Authorities have stated that Explo Systems improperly stored the tons of military propellant.
The following were sentenced by US District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote:
- William Terry Wright, 64, of Bossier City is sentenced to 60 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $149,032.80 in restitution for participating in the criminal conspiracy. Wright was the vice president of operations.
- Charles Ferris Callihan, 68, of Shreveport is sentenced to 24 months in prison, one year of supervised release and $207,599 in restitution for making false representations in documents. Callihan was was the director of engineering and environment control. He plead guilty in June 2018 to a one-count bill of information charging false representations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
- Kenneth Wayne Lampkin, 65, of Haughton is sentenced to 45 months in prison, three years of unsupervised release and $149,032.80 in restitution for making false statements. Lampkin was the program manager. He plead guilty on guilty May 14, 2018, to one count of making a false statement.
- Lionel Wayne Koons, 59, of Haughton is sentenced to 41 months in prison, three years of supervised release and is to pay $92,921 in restitution for making false statements. Koons was the traffic and inventory control manager. He plead guilty to one count of making a false statement in April of 2018.
- David Alan Smith, 62 of Winchester, Ky is sentenced to 55 months in prison, three years of supervised released and will have to pay $34,798,761 in restitution for participating in the criminal conspiracy. Smith was Explo’s co-owner. He plead guilty on December 14, 2017 to the conspiracy count and one count of making a false statement.
Explo Systems was in charge of the demilitarization of military munitions. The company would then resell the explosive materials for use in mining operations.
In late 2012, Doyline residents were instructed to evacuate their homes. The men were indicted in 2016.
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