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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
March 10, 2008
TWO MEN SENTENCED FOR CAUSING EXPLOSIONS THAT DAMAGED WICHITA APARTMENT BUILDINGS
WICHITA,KAN. – Two men were sentenced Monday for causing a series of explosions
in August 2007 that damaged apartment buildings in south Wichita.
Nathan L. Gunter, 19, Wichita, Kan., and was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison, and Antonio J. Ray, 19, Wichita, Kan., was sentenced to 3 years.
In December 2007, Gunter and Ray pleaded guilty to two counts each of arson by explosives.
The other defendant in the case, Daniel Collins, is scheduled for sentencing April 14. At a jury trial in January he was found guilty of one count of arson by explosives.
In their pleas, Gunter and Ray admitted that on Aug. 17, 2007, they used explosives to damage a part of the Chalet apartment complex at 4909 E. Harry and a part of the Kingsborough apartment complex at 2732 S. Seneca. Gunter and Ray admitted that Gunter drove the three to 4909 E. Harry, where Ray and Collins placed a lighted explosive device in the entry way of the apartments. The resulting explosion caused $88,500 damage to the building, which is owned by Liberty Properties, 1300 Sovereign Row, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Gunter and Ray also admitted that Gunter drove the three to 2732 S. Seneca, where Ray and Collins placed another lighted explosive device near the entry way of the apartments. The explosion caused $126,129 damage to the building, which is owned by Dermont Properties, 1775 N. Broadway, Suite 510, New York City, N.Y.
U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren commended the Wichita Police Department, the Wichita Fire Department, the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster for their work on the case.
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