LITTLE ROCK — The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person who left a bomb outside Osage Baptist Church two years ago.
The bomb, hidden in a Pepsi can, was picked up by a poll worker on the morning ofJune 8, 2010, and taken inside the church gymnasium, which was serving as a polling place that day for primary runoff elections. It wasn’t until the next day that church officials realized it was a bomb and reported it to police.
The bomb didn’t explode but could have killed people if it had, said Carroll County Sheriff Bob Grudek.
The reward announcement comes about seven weeks before a man arrested in connection with the bomb is due to be released from federal prison in Yazoo City, Miss.
Mark Krause, 41, a Madison County blacksmith, initially was charged with making the bomb, but prosecutors dropped the chargewhen Krause pled guilty to possession of illegal firearms instead. Krause has been in federal custody since he was arrested in Seattle on Dec. 3, 2010, by a Special Weapons and Tactics team for the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. He’s scheduled to be released Aug. 30, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
“He has not been eliminated as a suspect in the bombing,” Grudek said.
Since the bomb was sophisticated, more than one person might have been involved in making it, Grudek said.
U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge said he couldn’t comment about the timing of thereward.
“I can’t comment on that except to say we’re seeking all information that anyone in the public might have related to the Osage bomb case,” said Eldridge. “The bomb-related charge for Mark Krause was dismissed without prejudice, which of course means it could be refiled.”
Kim Brunell, supervisory special agent with the FBI in Little Rock, said the timing of the reward announcement was meant for the second anniversary of the bomb being discovered.
“We’re not focusing this [news] release on him by any stretch,” she said of Krause. “We hope by announcing the reward it would get people’s attention and remind them of this incident from a couple of years ago.”
“Sometimes reward money is what causes some people to come forward and provide information that would leadto the arrest and conviction of the person involved in the bombing,” said Grudek.
The FBI sent out the news release Monday to inform the public of the reward and ask for help.
“As some investigations take several twists and turns before they are ultimately solved, sometimes an innocuous, small bit of information can be the piece of evidence needed to make the case,” the release stated.
The release had details about the type of person the FBI believes made the bomb and left it outside the church. The agency believes the bomb maker had experience with pyrotechnics and electronics.
“He may have used these skills to play pranks on othersin the past,” the release states. “In fact, some of these pranks may have been motivated by revenge. He may display the attitude of, ‘I don’t get mad, I get even.’”
The release states that the bomb maker may have committed acts of vandalism in the past involving fireworks or other explosive devices.
“It is likely that he has experimented with explosives and pyrotechnics,” the release states. “Those living around him may have heard explosions or sounds like gunfire near his residence or in nearby rural areas.”
According to the release, the bomb-maker may keep circuit boards, batteries, wires, ammunition, pyrotechnic powder, fuses, electronic switches, springs and glue/adhesives, as well as tools necessary to make bombs, such as wire cutters, tweezers and an electric Dremel tool to cut metal.
Anyone with tips is asked to call the Carroll County sheriff’s office at (870) 423-2901 or the FBI’s Little Rock office at (501) 221-9100.
“Regardless of how insignificant you think your information might be, or whether or not you think we already are aware of it, please let us assess the relevance of your tip,” the release states. “Also, please do not discount someone you may suspect if he does not fit all of the traits and characteristics listed above.”
Brunell said a similar reward offer could be forthcoming concerning a pipe bomb found Easter morning outside a Mormon church in Harrison. That case is also being investigated by the FBI. That bomb didn’t explode, and no arrests have been made.
Grudek said the two bombs were very different, with the one in Osage being the more sophisticated of the two.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 07/11/2012