OWENSBORO MAN SENTENCED TO 7 AND ½ YEARS FOR
ATTEMPTING TO ROB LOCAL BANK

– Had pipe bomb strapped to his body

David L. Huber, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, announced today that KUJALI J. BROWN, age 26, of Owensboro, Kentucky, in Daviess County, Kentucky, was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in United States District Court, Owensboro Division, for receipt and possession of a destructive device, specifically a pipe bomb, and for attempting to rob a branch of BB&T Bank using a destructive device or dangerous weapon. Joseph H. McKinley, Jr., Judge, United States District Court, also sentenced Brown to 5 years of supervised release following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal judicial system. In addition, a special penalty assessment of $200.00 was imposed.

Brown had pled guilty to receiving and possessing a homemade pipe bomb on December 20, 2005. Brown admitted to the FBI that he had gotten another pipe bomb before the attempted bank robbery and exploded it in the woods where it blew a hole in the ground. The pipe bomb that Brown had strapped to his body to rob the bank was thrown into the river by him and was never recovered.

On December 22, 2005, three days before Christmas, Brown, strapped the pipe bomb to his body and entered a branch of BB&T Bank on West Parrish Avenue in Owensboro, Kentucky, where he attempted to rob the bank by entering the manager’s office near the bank entrance. One week earlier, Brown had purchased a model rocket kit and gun powder from an area retailer which were used to assemble the pipe bomb. Brown told the bank manager that he had a pipe bomb, and that a person outside the bank had the detonator and was holding Brown’s girlfriend hostage. Brown told the bank manager if he didn’t get money in two minutes, the person outside with the detonator would blow Brown up and kill his girlfriend. During the attempted robbery, the bank manager observed Brown’s jacket was open, and that masking tape was wrapped around his chest. A tube, approximately eight inches in length, wrapped in electrical tape, was on the right side of the defendant’s chest and a black box with three wires was attached to the left side of his chest. The bank manager left his desk and when he walked towards the teller area to retrieve money, Brown fled the bank. He apparently believed the manager had triggered a silent alarm. Later, a confidential source contacted the Owensboro Police Department and informed them that Brown was bragging about robbing a bank. A check of local records established that Brown was the registered owner of a Dodge Intrepid matching the description of the one leaving the BB&T branch bank. That same day, police officers went to a local residence where Brown was believed to be staying and observed Brown attempting to run out the back. He was arrested and placed in custody. Search warrants were obtained for Brown’s residence, car, and other locations, and evidence linking Brown to the attempted robbery was recovered.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marisa J. Ford and was investigated by the Owensboro Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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