Georgia company charged with selling defective grenades

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By Amy Lee Womack | Macon Telegraph

A Gerogia company that manufactures munitions for the government and law enforcement agencies has been indicted on charges that it defrauded the government by relabeling and selling defective diversionary grenades to the FBI.

One of the grenades prematurely exploded on Oct. 14, 2004, during a kidnapping investigation while it was still in a SWAT team agent's tactical vest pocket, injuring three FBI agents, according to the indictment.

David J. Karlson, CEO of Byron-based Pyrotechnic Specialties Inc., two employees and the company itself are named in the federal indictment. Among the charges are conspiracy, money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the government. Pyrotechnics Specialties was the FBI's sole provider of so-called "flash bang" grenades intended to stun rather than kill from 2000 to 2005.

Read the full story at Macon.com.

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