Alexandria Man Receives 10 Years For Selling Improvised Explosive Device

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Vytlingum Kandasawmi, also known as Tony, 34, of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for selling an improvised explosive device (“IED”) believing that the device would be used to commit murder.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Lt. Col. Edwin C. Roessler, Jr., Acting Chief of the Fairfax County Police Department made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.

Kandasawmi previously pleaded guilty on March 26, 2013.  According to court documents, Kandasawmi and co-defendant Tony Robert Brooks, 51, of Spotsylvania County, Va., built and sold an IED to a man whom they believed intended to use the explosive device to murder a rival.  The IED was housed in PVC pipe and contained steel balls, black powder, and a fuse.  The bomb purchaser was, in fact, an undercover law enforcement agent, who had purchased several smaller bombs from Kandasawmi over the preceding months.  Brooks is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12, 2013.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.