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.
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