Fugitive wanted on pipe bomb charges captured in Banning
A fugitive wanted for allegedly possessing pipe bombs that he left in residential areas around Palm Springs has been arrested, months after he fled a Riverside County halfway house, authorities said.
Edward Allen Costa, 48, was captured Monday in Banning, where federal investigators learned over the weekend he had been living, according to a statement Tuesday from the FBI. He was arrested by federal agents and Banning police.
Costa is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court later Tuesday. He was indicted in September on six counts of possessing unregistered destructive devices and one count of escape from custody.
In May of last year, authorities said, Costa left six pipe bombs in various locations in Palm Springs. He was initially charged in connection with the pipe bombs in June 2012. Those charges were dismissed to allow for further investigation.
At the time that complaint was dismissed, Costa was charged for being a felon possessing a firearm — a .357-magnum revolver, as well as 106 rounds of ammunition. He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison. By August, he was assigned to a halfway house in Rubidoux in Riverside County. One day, Costa signed out in order to go to a state-run employment office, but he never returned.
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