Suspect In Explosion Near Springs NAACP Office 'Is A Danger'
DENVER (AP) - A man charged with setting off a small explosion last month near a Colorado NAACP office is a danger to the community and must stay jailed without bail before his trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Watanabe's order came over objections from Thaddeus Murphy's public defender, who argued his client was angry at one person and is not a threat to the wider community.
The Jan. 6 blast drew national attention and rattled nerves because of its proximity to the Colorado Springs office of the nation's oldest civil rights organization. But Murphy, 44, told investigators he had money problems and was actually targeting an accountant, Steve DeHaven.
A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Murphy on charges of arson to a building and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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Prosecutors say they're still investigating Murphy's confession.
The low-slung office building, which houses the NAACP office and a barber shop, has a sign for an accountant's business, but it reportedly has been closed for years.
Murphy told authorities that he made the crude pipe bomb in his garage and set it off against the building because he was angry that DeHaven did not return his calls or give him back his tax records.
It was unclear whether Murphy knew that DeHaven died in June in Mesa, Arizona, about a year after his release from federal prison, where he served three years for filing false tax returns.
The explosive failed to ignite a gas canister set next to it and caused minor damage.
"The circumstances of this incident seem to be very unique," federal public defender Timothy O'Hara said Wednesday in arguing for Murphy's release. "It seems to be he was frustrated with one individual, an individual who's deceased."
He said Murphy had deep roots in Colorado Springs and steady work as a carpenter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Holloway said that didn't matter.
"A bomb, by its very nature, is random," Holloway said. Investigators who searched Murphy's home found seven firearms and materials that could be used to make more explosives.
Murphy has a history of mental illness, including anxiety and depression, and he is a flight risk because of a history of missing court appearances, Watanabe said.
- By Sadie Gurman, AP Writer
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