Cheyne Kehoe would not say whether the bombing was the April 19, 1995, blast that killed 168 people at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. "I did not specify what or where," he said.
Cheyne Kehoe's attorney, Jeffrey Hoskins, said his client told him at their first meeting that Chevie Kehoe, 24, was involved in a bombing. Cheyne Kehoe, 21, did not tell prosecutors and had not talked with federal agents about it, Hoskins said.
Cincinnati FBI spokesman Steve Kosky said Tuesday his office had never heard from Cheyne Kehoe or anyone else about Chevie Kehoe's possible involvement in such a bombing.
`We do not know if what he's saying is true or if it's the result of cooperating,' Kosky said. `What he did say were the magic buzzwords to attract our attention...He used the kind of language that is a request to be interviewed.'
Kosky said the FBI will investigate Cheyne Kehoe's claims.
A Clinton County Common Pleas jury on Jan. 12 convicted Cheyne Kehoe of the attempted murder of Clinton County sheriff's Deputy Robert Gates and other charges in the shootout last Feb. 15.
If Cheyne Kehoe had said he knew something about the bombing of a federal building before his trial, it probably would not have affected the state's charges, said Assistant Prosecutor Rick Moyer.
`I think it's funny how his knowledge of other events comes out when he feels it's to his advantage to say something,' said Moyer. `We have no reason to believe it is or it is not true.'
The FBI in Seattle said last week it was investigating a witness' report that Chevie Kehoe may have known the Oklahoma City bombing was being planned.
A former Spokane, Wash., motel manager said that months before the bombing, Chevie Kehoe showed up with someone who may have been Timothy McVeigh, who was sentenced to die after he was found guilty of murder and conspiracy in the Oklahoma City bombing.
``I'm 75 percent certain it was him, McVeigh, but I could be wrong.'' the manager said, according to The Spokesman-Review newspaper
FBI spokeswoman Roberta Burroughs said Tuesday that agents were unaware of any other connection between Chevie Kehoe and McVeigh and had not heard of Cheyne Kehoe's claims.
During Cheyne Kehoe's trial, Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Bob Johnson testified that officers found bomb materials in a mobile home the Kehoe brothers abandoned in Wyoming, said Clinton County Prosecutor William Peele.
On Tuesday, Judge William McCracken rejected the prosecution's request for the maximum sentence of 27 1/2 years and the defense bid for 10 years.
Cheyne Kehoe, who surrendered to authorities and directed them to his brother's Utah hideout, said Tuesday he was scared of repercussions from Chevie Kehoe. In part to protect Cheyne Kehoe, the two were kept in different county jails while they awaited trial.
Cheyne Kehoe said he intends to seek a transfer from Ohio to serve the sentence in his home state of Washington.
Chevie Kehoe's trial on 11 charges stemming from the shootout is scheduled to begin Feb. 23. He also was indicted on federal charges of racketeering, conspiracy and murder in an unrelated case, the 1996 slayings of an Arkansas gun dealer and his family.
* CONTACT Richelle Thompson at (513) 748-5642 or e-mail her at richelle_thompson@coxohio.com
PHOTO CREDIT: DAVID KOHL ASSOCIATED PRESS