Black Mag Gunpowder

Description

Gunpowder manufacturing plant exploded killing two employees and injuring a third. The owner, Craig Sanborn, was not in the state at the time of the incident and did not provide his employees with safety training or safety procedures. They were not wearing protective clothing and no warning signs were posted. Sanborn consistently ran afoul of inspectors. A state police bomb inspector told Sanborn he could only store 50 pounds of powder so the inspector denied Sanborn's application to store 1,000 pounds of gunpowder at the site, but Sanborn did it anyway.

Prosecutors:
Attorney General Joseph A. Foster; Senior Atorney General Susan P. McGinnis
Incident Type: Fire/ Explosion
County: Coos
State: NH
Date: May 14, 2010
Additional Materials
Folder for Black Mag Gunpowder materials
Available Case Materials Include:
Case/Court Decisions Media Clips & Gov't. Press
OSHA inspection detail
Contact for Additional Information:
Unavailable
Victims
First Last Age Title Employer Injury Type
Donald Kendall 56 Unavailable Black Mag Fatality
Jesse Kenettt 49 Unavailable Black Mag Fatality
Defendants
Name Type Title Plea Info. Conviction Sentence
Craig Michael Sanborn Individual Owner Pleaded not guilty Sentenced to 10-20 year prison term and $10,000 fine. NH Supreme Court upheld conviction in Dec. 2015. In OSHA agreement, required to surrender ATF explosives manufacturing license and never employ workers in explosives-related business enterprise.
Crimes Charged: Penal Crimes: Manslaughter; Negligent Homicide
Other Crimes: None