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Thread: Bruce Aldon Turnidge - Oregon

  1. #11
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    Prosecution rests in Woodburn bank bombing trial

    WOODBURN, Ore. - Prosecutors have rested their case in the Woodburn bank bombing trial, closing with a federal bomb expert who illustrated the destructiveness of the device that exploded.

    Back in December of 2008, a bomb went off at Woodburn's West Coast Bank, killing Woodburn Police Captain Tom Tennant and Oregon State Police Bomb Technician William Hakim, and leaving Woodburn's Police Chief, Scott Russell, without a leg.

    Bruce Turnidge and Josh Turnidge are accused of masterminding the bombing and have been on trial for the past few weeks. They face charges that include aggravated murder and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

    On Tuesday, Federal Agent Phil Witley testified that the device held enough explosive material to send shrapnel flying more than three football fields in length.

    "Theoretically, if the bank were not there to contain it, you could look at an area that large and that's about how far fragments could theoretically fly," he said. "They could still do damage to people who were struck by them."

    Prosecutors are trying to show that the decision by law enforcement officers to move the device inside the bank to dismantle it kept the public safe. The state is leaning on expertise from bomb experts who say the bomb was detonated remotely by a stray radio frequency and that Hakim's decision to pull the device, which he believed to be a hoax, apart had nothing to do with the explosion.

    However, Josh Turnidge's defense team wants jurors to see the officers' actions as reckless. Their contention is that the officers who responded to the threat did not follow procedure, like getting civilians out of the building. A bank teller was injured in the blast.

    On Wednesday, the defense will start calling its witnesses.

    http://www.katu.com/news/local/107013579.html

  2. #12
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    Explosives expert says trooper didn't set off bomb that killed him

    SALEM – It may have been a homeowner using a garage door opener, or perhaps a passing trucker on Highway 214 talking on a CB radio.

    But in the late afternoon of Dec. 12, 2008, some innocuous transmission over the radio waves likely triggered a remote-controlled bomb at a West Coast Bank in Woodburn to explode, killing two police officers, a federal bomb expert said Tuesday.

    In his testimony, Phil Whitley, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives enforcement officer, said efforts by Oregon State Police Senior Trooper William Hakim to dismantle the device did not trigger the bomb. Hakim, who believed the device to be a hoax, was hammering the box, trying to pry it open with a crowbar and announced, "There, I got it," just before it went off, according to one witness.

    "It's never a good idea to strike the device," Whitley said. But he maintained that the witness's account, which he had not heard before he testified, did not change his opinion.



    But a picture of the bomb, which was turned over to reveal its exposed bottom, showed wires feeding up to another switch whose toggle was in the sealed top compartment.

    With the help of other investigators, he concluded that a servo motor, commonly used with a receiver in remote-control cars and planes, was secured in the top compartment of the bomb.

    He testified that he believed the motor was attached to the toggle switch in the top compartment. A signal to the receiver would activate the motorarm to flip the switch, allowing electricity -- fed by the larger battery in the bottom compartment -- to flow to the blasting caps nestled in the tubes of Tovex explosive. The bomb would then detonate.

    "It's like putting a puzzle together," he said. "All the pieces are still there. They're just in very small pieces now."

    There are still some missing pieces. Investigators did not find any signs of a receiver, blasting caps or detonator. Whitley said the explosion likely smashed them to tiny pieces.

    Investigators did their own calculations on the dimensions of the device. They then compared their estimate with evidence seized from the property where Bruce Turnidge lived. A piece of plywood, on which someone had placed a box-like item and spray painted it, showed dimensions about a half-inch off their estimates.

    On cross-examination, defense attorneys questioned Whitley's theory about the bomb's detonation.

    Steven Krasik, an attorney for Joshua Turnidge, questioned whether the transmission from a CB radio would penetrate inside the bank, where Hakim was working on the bomb. He also questioned how a trucker could have come by at the precise moment that Hakim was banging on the bomb and announcing that he "got it."

    Whitley acknowledged that other experts might disagree with his theory. He said, however, that banging on the outside of the device would not have turned the internal switch on.

    When asked whether his professional relationship with Hakim affected his testimony, he said, "I think it would be impossible to say it doesn't affect my opinion. At the same time, I made a very conscious effort to look at this from an objective stance."

    Attorneys also asked him about standard operating procedure in handling a device, noting that Hakim brought the box into the bank and allowed civilians to remain in the building as he worked on what he believed to be a hoax device.

    Krasik asked Whitley, "Until you have it opened up and can see everything, it's still a loaded gun isn't it?"

    "Yes, sir," he responded.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-no..._killed_h.html

  3. #13
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    Woodburn Trial Continues

    The Woodburn bank bombing trial resumes today. The defense for Joshua and Bruce Turnidge calls its first witness today. The prosecution called over 130 witnesses over 19 days. Phil Whitley, an ATF explosives expert, the last State witness, testified that Trooper William Hakim did not set off the bomb that killed he and Woodburn Police Captain Tom Tennant. Whitley says instead, it could have been a garage door opener or perhaps a passing trucker using a CB radio. Whitley conceded to defense attorneys it was not a good idea for Hakim to hammer on the box, but says that would not have set off the bomb. The Turnidges are facing the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors say the father and son planted the bomb outside the West Coast Bank as part of a failed robbery plot.

    http://www.kbnd.com/page.php?page_id...rticle_id=3619

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    Defendant's brother testifies in OR bank bomb case

    Exactly what a defendant in a murder trial told his brother in a brief, frantic phone call two days after a bank bomb killed a state trooper and a police officer illustrates the complex nature of a case that has pitted father against son.

    The Dec. 14, 2008, call to Pat Turnidge from his brother Bruce Turnidge was the subject of intense debate Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court. Bruce Turnidge and his son, Joshua, could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder in the bombing of the West Coast Bank branch in Woodburn.

    Pat Turnidge said Bruce, 58, was out of breath and speaking quickly when he called. Joshua Turnidge, 34, had been arrested less than an hour before and charged in the bombing.

    "Did he say something along the lines of 'No one was supposed to get hurt?'" asked Steve Krasik, one of Joshua Turnidge's lawyers.

    "He may have said something similar to that," Pat Turnidge responded.

    Krasik then asked whether Bruce Turnidge said, "We're in trouble, deep trouble." Pat Turnidge agreed.

    Prosecutors have said the father and son decided to plant the bomb because they feared newly elected President Barack Obama would curb their gun rights. Joshua Turnidge's attorneys say Bruce used his son as an unwitting participant in the scheme to plant a bomb. Bruce Turnidge's lawyers argue he is innocent and say Joshua Turnidge masterminded the plan.

    The prosecution rested its case last week. Joshua Turnidge's defense attorneys began calling witnesses Tuesday.

    The crossfire of accusations means three sets of lawyers question each witness in hopes of eliciting the testimony they want.

    That was particularly evident when Pat Turnidge took the stand.

    Krasik said Pat Turnidge's testimony shows Bruce Turnidge knew the plot had been discovered and was worried about being caught.

    John Storkel, an attorney for Bruce Turnidge, asked Pat Turnidge whether his brother was in fact simply concerned for his son - and not worried about implications for himself.

    "You thought Bruce's worry stemmed from the concern that he had a child that was in trouble," Storkel said. Pat Turnidge agreed.

    In cross-examination, prosecutors tried to use Pat Turnidge's testimony to show Bruce Turnidge was not concerned with the fate of the two men killed in the blast.

    "He wasn't showing any remorse?" asked Marion County Deputy District Attorney Matt Kemmy. "Was he worried about his son having just been arrested, and not worried about loss of two lives, the loss of limbs to the police officer involved?"

    Pat Turnidge said his brother was worried about both the police and his son.

    Testimony showed Pat Turnidge didn't tell police during four separate interviews about the call from his brother, and the call was reported only after an interview with an investigator from Joshua Turnidge's defense team.

    The blast killed Senior Trooper William Hakim, a bomb technician with the State Police, and Woodburn Police Capt. Thomas Tennant as they were trying to pry the lid from a suspicious green metal box in the bushes in front of the bank.

    Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell survived but lost his right leg. A bank employee was injured but recovered.

    On Tuesday, Judge Thomas Hart dismissed two motions from the defense teams seeking an acquittal.

    http://www.mycentraloregon.com/news/...bomb-case.html

  5. #15
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    Wife escapes testifying against husband in bombing trial

    Last minute courtroom wrangling led to Janet Turnidge not taking the stand Friday in testimony that would have forced her to choose between her son and husband.

    Bruce Turnidge and his son, Josh, are accused of planting a bomb that killed two law enforcement officers and seriously injured a third in December 2008 at the West Coast Bank in Woodburn. The trial has pitted the father and son against each other.

    Josh’s defense team wanted to call his mother to the stand so jurors could learn about the relationship between Josh and his father. Josh’s defense hinges on him unknowingly being dragged into his father’s alleged bomb plot. His attorneys have said that Josh grew up with a father whose crazy ideas and rants were so common he often went along with his father just to keep the peace.

    Marion County Judge Thomas Hart reflected on how Janet Turnidge must feel about testifying in a trial that’s pitting husband against son.

    “I have seen Ms. Turnidge for nearly two years now. I can only imagine the most brutal of positions she has been put in to deal with emotionally,” he said.

    Josh’s defense attorney, Steven Krasik, acknowledged before the court that Janet Turnidge was being put in a difficult position in being asked to testify.

    “Mrs. Turnidge is, at least in my experience, in an unprecedented position of being possibly required to, in a sense, emotionally choose between a husband and a son,” he said.

    Bruce Turnidge’s defense team has been very much opposed to Janet Turnidge taking the stand because they feel her testimony would hurt her husband.

    Hart ruled earlier that Janet Turnidge would have to testify even though she tried to use what are called, “marital privilege rights” to avoid testifying against her husband. The judge said Josh’s right to question witnesses rose above her right to “marital privilege.”

    Josh’s attorneys, however, decided not to call her following a ruling by the judge that would have kept the jury out during her first “run-through” on the stand. Josh’s attorneys said it would have amounted to a witness “dress rehearsal” and would have kept the jury from seeing Janet Turnidge’s unedited responses.

    “A flinch. A hesitation. A body posture, breathing patterns. All of those things would be somewhat compromised the second time around,” said Krasik.

    Bruce and Josh Turnidge face aggravated murder charges for allegedly building and planting the bomb that killed Oregon State Police bomb technician Bill Hakim and Woodburn Police Capt. Tom Tennant. Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell lost a leg in the blast.

    Bruce and Josh Turnidge face the death penalty if found guilty. Josh Turnidge is expected to testify in his own defense Monday.

    http://www.katu.com/news/local/109388339.html

  6. #16
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    Last witness for Joshua Turnidge tries to distance defendant from DNA evidence

    SALEM -- A forensics scientist testified today that Joshua Turnidge didn't have to touch a prepaid cell phone to leave his genetic fingerprints on it.

    A person's DNA can be transferred from one surface to another through incidental contact, said Raymond Allen Grimsbo, a former Oregon State Police crime lab analyst now in private practice. For example, a cell phone placed on a car seat can pick up the DNA of people who have touched that seat, he said.

    Joshua Turnidge has admitted buying two cell phones and other items that were linked to the Dec. 12, 2008, robbery attempt and explosion at a West Coast Bank branch in Woodburn that killed two police officers, seriously injured a third and wounded a bank employee.

    But the 34-year-old Salem man said he bought the phones at his father's request and didn't realize what his father was planning. In fact, he gave the packaged cell phones to his father and didn't see them again, he said.

    The son and father, Bruce Turnidge, are on trial on aggravated murder charges that could bring the death penalty if they're convicted. Prosecutors say the two planted a bomb outside the bank as part of a failed robbery plot. The bomb exploded when police tried to dismantle it inside the bank.

    Grimsbo's testimony was designed to show jurors how a small amount of Joshua Turnidge's DNA -- which was found on a cell phone recovered from the robbery attempt -- could have landed on the handset.

    Grimsbo was the last witness called by Joshua Turnidge's lawyers. Bruce Turnidge's attorneys have started calling witnesses for the father.

    Both Turnidges have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have implicated the other in the crime.

    Several friends and church members who know Bruce Turnidge testified that they never heard the 59-year-old Jefferson man talk of staging bank robberies or killing police officers, contrary to previous witnesses.

    In addition, they didn't recall him speaking admiringly of Timothy McVeigh, who was put to death for the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

    Steve Hitchcock, a longtime friend of Bruce Turnidge who had dinner with him on the night of the Woodburn bombing, said he appeared normal that evening. In the days afterward, Bruce Turnidge also expressed his concern over the deaths in the bombing, and never gave any indication he might have been involved, Hitchcock said.

    Attorneys for Bruce Turnidge will continue their defense next week. Marion County Circuit Judge Thomas Hart has tentatively scheduled closing arguments to begin Dec. 6.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-no..._evidence.html

  7. #17
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    Oregon bank bombing trial nearing end

    SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Lawyers for one of two men charged in the bombing of a Woodburn bank and the killing of two police officers finished their defense Wednesday by raising the possibility that the suspect didn't touch a key piece of evidence.

    Defendant Joshua Turnidge has testified that he bought cell phones at his father's request, and experts say one with DNA evidence pointing to the son was found at the scene of the December 2008 blast at the West Coast Bank branch.

    However, under defense questioning, the owner of a Portland forensics consulting business said it's possible for DNA to be transferred in many ways, such as from a vehicle seat a person has touched.

    The witness, Raymond Grimsbo, is a former State Police crime lab technician whose testimony followed that of Joshua Turnidge on Monday and Tuesday.

    Turnidge and his father, Bruce Turnidge, have blamed each other for the bombing that prosecutors say was the result of a robbery attempt on which the two collaborated.

    They have pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

    The explosion on Dec. 12, 2008, killed State Trooper William Hakim, who had taken what he thought was a dummy explosive device into the bank. It also killed Woodburn police Capt. Tom Tennant, maimed Police Chief Scott Russell and wounded bank employee Laurie Perkett.

    The trial began in late September. Judge Thomas Hart said Wednesday testimony would resume Monday and was expected to be finished by the end of the week, with closing arguments starting Dec. 6.

    The defense of Bruce Turnidge is expected to take most of the last week of the trial, but his lawyers have not said whether he will take the witness stand, as his son did. His name doesn't appear on the defense's witness list.

    http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story...CHtwT6kxQ.cspx

  8. #18
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    Woodburn Bank Bombing Trial Hinges On Details

    Testimony is wrapping up in the trial of Bruce and Joshua Turnidge. The Turnidges are charged with making the bomb that killed a state trooper and a policeman. As April Baer reports, the case is a study in legal technique.

    Stakes are high for both defendants. The death of two law enforcement officers is never a small matter.

    Marion County prosecutors have been clear they will seek the death penalty if they get a conviction. They've spent a great deal of time talking to technical witnesses like ATF Agent Phil Whitley.

    Prosecutor Courtland Geyer questioned him about the positioning of the explosive load in The Woodburn bomb.

    Courtland Geyer: “Was the explosive load low to the ground or was it raised?”

    Phil Whitley: “It was raised. Its original position would have placed it like this -- so your explosive would have been at the top of the deivce versus the bottom.

    Courtland Geyer: “When the explosive agent was raised like that, does it add anything to the explosive effect?”

    Phil Whitley “It does. Militaries have always favored air-burst munitions, munitions that explode at a height, because it more evenly distributes all the explosive force, therefore causing more damage or injuries.”

    Explosive positioning may seem like a minor point. It's anything but that in a trial where prosecutors have no witnesses that saw someone place the bomb.

    No one has said they heard the Turnidges talking about this specific attack or actively planning something similar.

    Mary Fan “I think this case is built largely on circumstantial evidence.”

    Mary Fan is an assistant professor of law at the University of Washington's School of Law.

    She says, circumstancial evidence isn't necessarily problematic at trial. But it does mean prosecutors have to work harder to create a believeable narrative. Fan also notes the state has to meet a higher legal standard for this kind of capital murder case.

    Mary Fan: “That additional layer of proof, not only did you intend to commit the felony and somebody died, but that you intended to kill someone, that creates an additional layer of proof the prosecutor has to meet.”

    Hence Agent Whitley's testimony about the positioning of explosives. Prosecutors contend height matters because it signals an intent to cause maximum harm.

    The question of intent has figured significantly for the defense, too.

    Attorneys for Bruce and Joshua Turnidge have presented separate cases. Neither has conceded their client's involvement. But both are trying to plant just enough doubt about each man's culpability that the jury won't convict.

    Joshua Turnidge's lead attorney, Steven Krasik, approached Agent Whitley in a cross-examination, with a backhanded suggestion that much of the state's case rested on Whitley's testimony.

    Steven Krasik: “You're just sort of batting cleanup here for everybody, aren’t you?”

    Phil Whitley “I really couldn't answer that, Sir.”

    For the most part, defense attorneys have questioned few aspects of the state's physical evidence.

    One major exception is the way the bomb was triggered. Attorney Krasik called Thomas Workman, an engineer with legal training who frequently testifies about electrical frequencies.

    Workman disputed prosecutors' theory that stray radio frequencies set off the bomb. He said, assuming something like a DVD player was emitting exactly the right frequency, something he considered astronomically unlikely, it still would have had to be positioned very close.

    Thomas Workman: “You'd have to have the DVD player within a couple of feet of the device. There’s video cameras that show what happened right before the explosion, and when I viewed them, I didn't see anyone looking at a movie.”

    Defense attorneys working for Joshua Turnidge have also spent a considerable amount of time attacking the character of Bruce Turnidge, who they claim is responsible for the bombing.

    Character witnesses - including Joshua Turnidge himself - painted a picture of Bruce as unstable, reactionary, and vehement in his loathing for the government and its agents.

    Bruce Turnidge's defense team is lead by John Storkel. He has called several witnesses to refute the scathing character allegations presented by both prosecutors and Joshua Turnidges attorneys.

    Testimony has pointed out that one of Bruce Turnidge's best friends was a police officer.

    Evidence has also suggested Bruce wasn't physically capable of pulling off a bombing of this nature on his own.

    The judge says he expects to give the jury instructions on Monday so that they can begin their deliberations.

    http://news.opb.org/article/19630-wo...inges-details/

  9. #19
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    Judge denies acquittal motions in Woodburn bank bombing trials

    A Marion County Circuit judge this morning ruled against defense attorneys who sought acquittals for Bruce Turnidge and Joshua Turnidge in the December 2008 Woodburn bank bombing that killed two police officers and injured two other people.

    The attorneys renewed arguments made earlier in the aggravated murder trials that even if the state's theories are accepted as true, prosecutors failed to prove their clients "personally and intentionally" set off a bomb found outside a West Coast Bank. The state has argued that the father and son planted the bomb as part of a failed robbery plot.

    The bomb exploded as a state police bomb technician, who mistakenly believed it to be a hoax device, tried to dismantle it with another police officer.

    Attorney Steven Gorham, who represents Joshua Turnidge, argued that because the state believes a passing trucker on a CB radio may have set off the remote-control bomb, his client is not responsible for the detonation.

    He added that the state's theory that the two were staging a robbery is "pure speculation," saying that there was no request for money made in a curtailed phone call allegedly made by Joshua Turnidge to a neighboring bank. The call, on Dec. 12, 2008, set in motion the series of events that led to the explosion at the bank next door.

    Gorham argued that in any event, whoever planted the device clearly had abandoned plans for a robbery by the time the device went off.

    Attorney John Storkel, who represents Bruce Turnidge, added that investigators found no evidence of a receiver inside the bomb. A receiver would be critical for the bomb to be operated by remote control, and so the state's theory lacks evidence, he said.

    Like Gorham, he said the state has not met its burden of proving the father acted "personally and intentionally."

    But Judge Thomas Hart denied the motions, saying that the jury has plenty of evidence, if they choose to believe it, that support the state's theory. Among the evidence are prepaid cell phones -- bought by Joshua Turnidge -- that were linked to the threatening call and alleged robbery plot.

    The judge also said a jury could find there was intent to kill police officers, saying those are the people who would reasonably respond to the threatening phone call. And he dismissed the argument that whoever planted the bomb had abandoned the plot.

    "Just walking away from a lethal situation does not necessarily mean you abandon it," he said.

    The trial, which began Sept. 29, is winding down. Closing arguments are expected to begin as early as Monday morning. The two co-defendants could face the death penalty if found guilty.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-no...ng_trials.html

  10. #20
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    Closing arguments expected today in Woodburn bank bombing trials

    Closing arguments are expected to start this morning in the joint aggravated-murder trials of father and son Bruce and Joshua Turnidge of Marion County.

    The two are accused of planting a deadly bomb outside a West Coast Bank in Woodburn two years ago. They could face the death penalty if a jury finds them guilty of aggravated murder. Both men have pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecutors say they placed a bomb outside the bank branch as part of a failed robbery plot. Oregon State Police bomb technician

    William Hakim and Woodburn police Capt. Tom Tennant were killed in the Dec. 12, 2008, blast, as they tried to dismantle the device. Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell lost a leg and sustained critical injuries. A bank employee, Laurie Perkett, was wounded in the leg.

    The trial began in September.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-no...ing_trial.html

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