5 sentenced over camp explosion

DALLAS – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined law enforcement partners, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, Defense Department, U. S. Army, Department of Transportation, FBI, and Louisiana State Police, in announcing Nov. 30 the sentencing of five defendants for their role in a case involving Explo Systems Inc., a private company involved in the demilitarization of military munitions. Explo Systems’ mismanagement of military munitions resulted in the detonation at a storage facility at Camp Minden, La., on Oct. 15, 2012. The explosion damaged buildings in a four-mile radius, derailed 11 rail cars, and felt up to 35 miles away. In addition, an investigation revealed that Explo Systems had illegally disposed of hazardous waste resulting in over $38M of cleanup costs to tax payers. For their role in a criminal conspiracy, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote presided over hearings and sentenced five defendants: Co-owner David Alan Smith of Winchester, Ky.; Vice President of Operations William Terry Wright of Bossier City, La.; Director of Support Technology Charles Ferris Callihan of Shreveport, La.; Demilitarization Program Manager Kenneth Wayne Lampkin and Traffic and Inventory Control Manager Lionel Wayne Koons, both of Haughton, La. (Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana 11/30/18)