Dry-cleaning store owner sentenced for blowing up his own business

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    SARPY COUNTY, Neb. (KETV) — A Sarpy County dry-cleaning store owner has been sentenced for blowing up his own business.

Sarpy County prosecutors had charged Michael McKernan, 53, the former owner of Wardrobe Spa, accusing him of staging the explosion that rocked the business near 168th and Harrison in October 2018.

On Thursday, McKernan was sentenced to two years in prison for arson and burning to defraud. He was led away in handcuffs and his wife was seen in tears.

Justin Kennel, a volunteer firefighter in Gretna, and an investigator with the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office, testified his agency’s monthslong investigation revealed someone drilled holes into Wardrobe Spa’s gas pipes.

“The evidence was that there were holes drilled inside these pipes in the natural gas system, and that’s just not normal. That just doesn’t happen, because it will lead to an explosion,” Sarpy County deputy attorney Ben Perlman said.

Kennel later testified McKernan asked for more insurance coverage to his store before the 2018 explosion.

Damage from the explosion and resulting fire was estimated at $350,000.

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