Home from college for Christmas break, twin brothers from Chester County occupied themselves by building and exploding bombs, authorities said.
On Tuesday, May 17, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced the arrest of Daniel and Caleb Tate, 22, of Cochranville, for setting off improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in five separate locations in Chester and Lancaster counties, said a press release from the District Attorney’s Office.
“We live in a world where the thought of bombs exploding around us is a very real fear,” said Hogan in the release. “These defendants brought that fear to our region during a two-week crime spree where they detonated multiple IEDs. The Pennsylvania State Police and ATF did an outstanding job investigating this case and discovering who was responsible.”
In December, Daniel Tate, a graduate of Pepperdine University in California, and Caleb Tate, a student at Belmont University in Tennessee, constructed bombs out of various materials, including metal pipes, fuel containers, propane canisters, propane torch tips, and other items, the criminal complaint said.
The complaint said the twins started by blowing up a mailbox in the 200 block of South Friends Meetinghouse Road in Highland Township on Dec. 20. Two days later, they allegedly detonated an IED in a wooded area in the 1800 block of Faggs Manor Road in Londonderry Township before switching to buildings.
On Dec. 30, the brothers exploded a pipe bomb in an Amish phone shed, an enclosed building containing a phone that is used by multiple families who aren’t permitted to have a phone in their homes. The complaint said the shed in the 300 block of Bartville Road, Colerain Township, Lancaster County, was badly damaged.
The following day, New Year’s Eve, the brothers’ target was an Amish produce shed in the 900 block of May Post Office Road, Strasburg Township, Lancaster County. The shed was damaged in the explosion. They later exploded another bomb in a well pump shed at in the 900 block of Ross Fording Road in West Fallowfield Township. The building was destroyed, the complaint said.
Hogan said fortunately no people were in any of the buildings when the explosions took place, generally in the early morning hours.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Sam Rabadi stated, “Improvised explosive devices are not harmless firecrackers,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Sam Rabadi said in the release. They are dangerous, destructive, and can be very deadly. “
The Pennsylvania State Police and ATF investigated the bombings, which took place in a 12-mile radius. Investigators discovered video of the defendants shoplifting the materials for the IEDs from local stores. In addition, investigators were able to match Daniel Tate’s fingerprint from electrical tape recovered at one of the explosion scenes, the complaint said.
During separate interviews in California on Feb. 18, both brothers admitted their involvement in the alleged crimes to an ATF agent, adding that their younger brother provided some assistance but “had very limited involvement” with the crimes, the complaint said.
The Tates face charges that include arson by explosion, arson by possession of explosive devices, conspiracy, theft, and related offenses. They were arraigned on Monday, May 16, and released on $25,000 unsecured bail to await a preliminary hearing on June 9, court records said.
Pennsylvania State Police Capt. Maurice Tomlinson said police would continue to ensure the safety of citizens. “Working together, we will make sure persons willing to commit these acts get prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said in the release. “We thank everyone involved in the investigation to date and greatly appreciate the collaborative efforts all agencies involved in this case.”
Hogan said the case was assigned to Deputy District Attorney Tom Ost-Prisco. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Jerry Harper of the Troop J Fire Marshal Unit at 717-299-7650.
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