Bruce and Joshua Turnidge, Father-Son Bank Bombers, Convicted of Murdering Two Ore. Cops in '08
SALEM, Ore. (CBS/AP) Bruce and Joshua Turnidge, a father and son who authorities say loved their guns and hated President Barack Obama, were convicted Wednesday of planting a bank bomb that killed two police officers in Woodburn, Ore. and maimed a third in 2008.
A Marion County Circuit Court jury deliberated for less than a day before finding both defendants guilty on all 18 counts, which included aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and assault charges.
The homemade bomb exploded at the West Coast Bank in Woodburn less than two weeks before Christmas 2008, killing a police bomb technician who was trying to dismantle it, as well as another police officer. The town's police chief lost a leg in the explosion, which authorities say was part of an attempt to rob the bank.
During the two-month trial, prosecutors presented evidence that the Turnidges harbored fantasies of building bombs, robbing banks and starting a militia. They hatched the bank robbery plan because they needed money to keep their biodiesel company afloat, prosecutors said.
Witnesses testified that Bruce Turnidge, who grew up in a prominent farming family in the Willamette Valley but could not make a go of farming himself, wanted to live in a tent city with people who shared his political beliefs but couldn't get money to build an arms stockpile for a militia.
According to testimony, father and son exulted in the Oklahoma City bombing, and Bruce Turnidge viewed Timothy McVeigh as a hero. Prosecutors also said both men believed the Obama administration would crack down on their rights to own guns. The attack occurred about a month after Obama was elected.
Both men stood silently as the verdicts were read. The convictions send the trial into a penalty phase where the jury will decide whether to send the men to death row. Other sentencing options include life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, or a life sentence with no parole.
If sentenced to death, the Turnidges would have automatic appeals to the Oregon Supreme Court, which would trigger a judicial review that could last decades.
Since 1962, only two condemned inmates have been executed in Oregon - both men who gave up their appeals. The state has 34 men on death row, including many who were sentenced more than 20 years ago.
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Nov. 22, 2010 - Bruce Turnidge and Son Joshua Turnidge on Trial for 2008 Murder of Ore. Cops