An Alexandria man is convicted of planting bombs at three businesses in Monroe and Alexandria in 2019 and 2020. A federal jury found 40-year-old Daniel Aikens guilty of 3 counts of Making a Destructive Device, 3 counts of possession of bombs and more. Brandon Brown is the U.S. Attorney for the state’s Western District. Brown says he’ll push for a long sentence.
“We think he’s dangerous. He does not need to be walking around the streets of Alexandria or Monroe or anywhere in our district…for as long as possible,” Brown says.
Aikens set off a bomb at a Monroe beauty school in September 2019. Three months later he planted a bomb at an Alexandria gas station. A third device went off in January 2020 at an Alexandria payday loan office. Brown says Aiken called some of the businesses afterward to extort cash to prevent another bombing…
“This seems to be motivated simply by greed. By money.”
Brown says it’s wonder more people were not seriously hurt by Aikens’ crimes. He credits the prosecutors in his office for working with the FBI to put together a tight case against Aikens, a good amount of forensic evidence and C.S.I. work to nab Aikens. Aikens sentencing is scheduled for March 3rd of next year. Brown says Aikens is a bad person and needs to do serious jail time…
“The maximum on each charge is ten years. We’re shooting for about 40 years max.”
Aikens is set for sentencing in December and faces up to 40 years. He also faces a murder charge in Grant Parish from a 2017 homicide.
Aikens previously operated a lawn care business and he’s accused of killing one of his workers who died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
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