Southwest Plaza Bomb Attempt Suspect Changes Plea To Guilty
DENVER (CBS4) - Earl Albert Moore changed his plea to guilty in federal court in Denver on Friday.
Moore, 65, now says he was the one who left propane tanks and a pipe bomb in Southwest Plaza in Jefferson County on April 20. He also started the small fire that led to an evacuation of the mall and the detonation of the bomb, which turned out to be a very minor explosion.
On Friday Moore said he drained the propane from the tanks and didn't intend to harm anyone. No one was injured.
He was arrested in Boulder five days later after being identified in surveillance video images and after investigators found his DNA on the explosive device.
CBS4 reporter Rick Sallinger reports Moore said in court that he did it because he was upset about a domestic situation. Moore's wife apparently worked at the mall at one time.
"I was upset. It was just a domestic thing. It didn't make any sense," said Moore in court.
Moore has an extensive criminal background. He was released from prison in Georgia a week before the bombing attempt.
The crime happened on the same day as the 12th anniversary of the shootings at the nearby Columbine High School. In a letter Moore mailed to Sallinger after he was arrested he wrote that there was no connection to Columbine. On Friday Moore's attorney Robert Peppin reiterated that.
"Mr. Moore's action had no relation to the Columbine massacre," Peppin said. "Mr. Moore was horrified to learn of speculation of a connection."
The judge asked Moore if he was trying to get back into prison with his action because he was unhappy with cancer treatment he had previously received while in prison. Moore replied that he wasn't.
"He's on medication both for blood pressure and prostate. There are issues continued to be looked at and beyond that I don't feel comfortable talking about it," said Peppin.
Moore now faces 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in March.
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