Arrest in bombing near Colorado NAACP office

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A suspect wanted in an explosion near an NAACP headquarters in Colorado Springs last month has been arrested, reports CBS Denver. The suspect told investigators he wasn't targeting the headquarters but was upset with a tax preparation business that had once been located nearby.

Thaddeus Murphy, 44, of Colorado Springs was placed in custody on Friday.

The blast happened Jan. 6 outside a barbershop that shares a building with the Colorado Springs NAACP chapter. There were no injuries and only minor damage.

Sources tell the station that Murphy had been upset with the tax preparation company because they had mishandled his taxes and he owed money to the IRS as a result. That company had been located in the same building as the barbershop and NAACP at one time.

CBS Denver reports that authorities conducted raids of Murphy's home and a storage area where they discovered physical evidence that they say appears to tie him to the bomb.

Authorities reportedly say that a homemade explosive was detonated against the building, but a gas canister placed next to it did not ignite. The device consisted of a gas can, a pipe and powder.

The station reports that, at the time of the bombing, witnesses gave a description of a vehicle leaving the scene with a male in the driver's seat. The investigation had been headed up by the FBI.

Murphy has a prior criminal record of burglary and theft arrests in 1989, failure to appear in 1991 and more thefts in 2007.

Federal authorities are preparing charges in connection with the bombing.