The FBI announced Wednesday a reward of $10,000 is being offered in exchange for info leading to the capture of a man indicted on federal charges of illegally possessing pipe bombs left in residential neighborhoods in the Palm Springs in 2012.
Edward Allen Costa, 48, was indicted six weeks ago on Wednesday Sept. 11, on six counts of possessing unregistered destructive devices and one count of escape from custody, FBI officials in Los Angeles said Oct. 23 in a statement.
Costa, who pleaded guilty last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm, allegedly walked away from a halfway house in Rubidoux in August 2013, according to the FBI.
A poster with Costa's DMV photo and description is featured on the FBI's website at this link: http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/edward-allen-costa/view.
The indictment alleges Costa illegally possessed six pipes bombs that were left in various locations in Palm Springs from May 8 through May 12 last year. FBI officials said.
Costa was initially charged in relation to the pipe bombs in a criminal complaint filed in June 2012, but those charges were dismissed to allow more investigation, according to the FBI.
When that complaint was dismissed, Costa was charged in another case of being a convicted felon in possession of a .357-magnum revolver and 106 rounds of ammunition, FBI officials said.
Costa pleaded guilty late last year to the felon-in-possession charge, and he was sentenced in January by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips to one year and one day in federal prison, according to the FBI.
By August, the Bureau of Prisons had assigned Costa to a residential re-entry center in Rubidoux, FBI officials said. According to court documents, Costa signed out of the facility to go to a state-run employment office, but he never returned.
Costa was initially charged with escape in a criminal complaint filed in federal court on August 16, according to the FBI.
Special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives continued to investigate the case involving the pipe bombs. The investigation concluded in September when a federal grand jury in Riverside returned the seven-count indictment against Costa, FBI officials said.
The charge of possession of an unregistered destructive device carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, according to the Department of Justice. The escape charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Costa is currently a fugitive being sought by federal authorities. Anyone with info about his whereabouts was urged to call the FBI at this 24-hour number: 888-CANT HIDE (888-226-8443).
The case against Costa was investigated by the FBI and ATF with assistance from Palm Springs police and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. The U.S. Marshals Service has also tried to locate and arrest Costa.
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