A 47-year-old man from Albany was found guilty of employing homemade explosives in a string of citywide traffic explosions.
Ezekiel Joseph Brown was arrested by Albany police in November 2023 after a 16-month investigation into claims that he manufactured and planted five IEDs on city streets between the summer of 2021 and the winter of 2022.
In late January, Brown entered a no contest plea to three misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment another person and five felony counts of unlawful possession of a destructive weapon, along with first-degree arson.
Judge Thomas McHill of Linn County sentenced Brown to ten years in prison on February 3. Five charges of illegally manufacturing a harmful device and one count of criminal mischief were dropped as part of a plea agreement.
In a January 29 letter to the judge, Brown’s daughter, Courtney Brown, stated that her father’s grandfather, a lifetime pyrotechnic enthusiast, had passed on his love of pyrotechnics to her father.
My father’s love of fireworks was always meant to be a happy part of life, and this shared pleasure has been a treasured tradition in our family, she wrote. I want to emphasize that my dad never had any evil intent, even if I acknowledge that his actions might have had unforeseen effects.
According to reports, the devices were made from commonplace materials like tape, cardboard, and cups and were hidden by them. Police said they used DNA evidence to connect Brown to some of the explosive devices with FBI help. None of the explosions were reported to have caused any injuries.
When an Albany police cruiser ran over the first IED, it detonated, allegedly causing damage of at least $1,000.
The devices were placed in the following areas, per court documents:
* On June 29, 2021, at the 1700 block of Pacific Boulevard Southeast
* Main Street Southeast and First Avenue intersection (Nov. 20, 2021)
* On January 6, 2022, close to the Main Street Southeast roundabout
* On January 30, 2022, at the 1400 block of Salem Avenue Southeast
* On February 12, 2022, in the Main Street Southeast roundabout
According to an Albany Police Department affidavit, the explosive device that destroyed the squad car detonated with enough energy to activate a camera system that is meant to activate in the event that the vehicle is involved in a collision.
According to the affidavit, officers discovered tiny spheres that resembled BBs or shot pellets adhered to tape among the blast’s debris, stating that footage showed what looked to be a small, light-colored item in the highway.
In the second incident, an Albany police officer witnessed a driver turning from Main Street onto First Avenue Southeast and colliding with an object, which caused an explosion. There was no reported visible damage to the vehicle.
Melted tin and many BBs were found at the scene, along with pieces of what looked to be some kind of burned cardboard. The officer’s dash cam purportedly filmed the explosion.
The driver of the third explosion, which occurred close to the Main Street Southeast roundabout, told authorities that his car was unharmed when he went over an exploding object.
A bartender gathered the IED’s remnants, including a shredded cup with burn scars and white electrical tape, when the motorist pulled over at the Linger Longer Tavern following the incident.
A pickup truck struck the fourth IED on Salem Avenue Southeast, setting off a charred device that authorities claimed had a gunpowder-like odor. Authorities were notified by a nearby resident who believed they heard a gunshot.
A driver stated that something exploded beneath his car in the sixth occurrence, which likewise happened near the Main Street South roundabout. A Pepsi fountain drink cup and white tape were among the charred debris discovered by the police.
A suspect was seen on surveillance footage from a nearby business entering the roundabout, dumping something, and then swiftly leaving. The smaller item thought to be the IED seemed to have been hidden within the paper cup.
According to the affidavit, police found Brown at a home close to the explosion sites after tracking down the suspect through a transaction made at the adjacent 7-Eleven around the time the IED was planted.
According to the complaint, police discovered many pyrotechnics and lighters in Brown’s hoodie pocket when he was taken into custody. The camera footage showed the suspect wearing a jacket that was identical to one that Brown’s father had.
Brown is being detained at Wilsonville’s Coffee Creek Correction Facility.
Albany Democrat-Herald, Oregon, 2025. Go to the democratherald.com website. Tribune Content Agency, LLC is the distributor.
