Suspect's Father Also Charged In Bombing

Son Could Face Death Penalty In Oregon Bank Blast That Killed Two Officers

(CBS/AP)  Authorities have arrested the father of a man accused of killing two Oregon law enforcement officers in a bank bombing and say he's charged with conspiracy.

The Marion County district attorney's office says 57-year-old Bruce Turnidge is accused of conspiracy to manufacture and to possess an explosive device.

His arrest Tuesday afternoon followed a court appearance in the morning by his 32-year-old son, Joshua.

The son is accused of multiple crimes in the Friday blast. Topping the charges is aggravated murder, which carries a potential death penalty.

The two officers killed in the bank bombing believed the device was a hoax and were trying to open it when it exploded, according to court documents released earlier in the day.

A probable cause statement in Joshua Turnidge's case said a state trooper inspected and X-rayed a green metal box found Friday outside the West Coast Bank building in Woodburn, Ore.

The document said Oregon State Police Senior Trooper William Hakim, a bomb disposal technician, was confident it was a hoax device, so he took it inside.

The statement says a bank employee saw Hakim trying to open it while Woodburn Capt. Tom Tennant held it, and then it exploded.

Hakim and Tennant were killed.

Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell was critically injured. The bank employee was treated at Salem Hospital and released.

On Monday, federal agents revealed more information about the circumstances of the bombing and the investigation. The case apparently begins in November, with Joshua Turnidge buying cell phone parts in the Bend, Ore. area, CBS affiliate KOIN reports. Investigators believe that Turnidge used a cellular phone and cell phone parts when manufacturing the bomb. That implies that it may have been set off remotely.

A bank executive said police had been called out earlier in the day on a bomb threat at the Wells Fargo bank, which is right next door. KOIN reported that police came out, searched, and said they found only a harmless device, so they left. Later, a West Coast Bank manager spotted a suspicious package outside his branch and again called police. The law officers came back and took the bomb inside, where it blew up.

The remains of the bomb, including cell phone parts and other evidence, is being checked at the ATF explosives crime lab in Walnut Creek, California.

Robert Sznewajs, the CEO of West Coast Bank, said Sunday that the bank planned to establish a fund for the families of slain officers.

[feddupp]

This is why EVERY device should be treated as if it were real. Better SAFE than SORRY!!