As tribal officials weigh in on the recent pipe bomb explosion on the Bishop Paiute Reservation, Inyo Sheriff Bill Lutze has authorized a reward for information in a case that may have been related to a recent homicide investigation.

The pipe bomb, heard by many, went off at about 9:30 Tuesday night, completely destroying a mailbox on Diaz Lane.

Inyo Sheriff Detective Jeff Hollowell says, “Physical evidence has been collected from the crime scene and Sheriff Investigators are attempting to determine if the explosion is related to the homicide investigation in November 2009 involving a juvenile suspect.”

In early December, Sheriff’s officials said that 17-year-old Edward Keller, Jr. of Bishop had confessed to the murder of 29-year-old James Williams on November 26th, 2009.

Nobody was hurt by the explosion, but Bishop Tribal Officials say, “The potential for injury was very high so identifying those responsible for this act of violence is necessary to ensure that there are no further incidents of this kind in our community.” Tribal Officials are asking that anyone with any information that might help the investigation contact the Inyo Sheriff’s Department or the Bishop Paiute Tribal Police at 873-4477.

Tribal Officials say that in addition to cooperating with authorities, the Tribal Council has directed staff to “come up with a plan to enable identification of illegal activity occurring on the Bishop Paiute Reservation in an ongoing effort to make the Bishop Paiute Reservation a safe, peaceful, and healthy community for all its residents and guests.”

The Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate and has offered a $1000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects in this case. If you have information, call the Sheriff’s Department at 878-0383. You can, if you wish, make an anonymous report.

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