Bomb Law’s Time Has Come Prosecutors Ask Legislature To Make Having An Explosive Device Illegal In Idaho

The Coeur d’Alene man who escaped arrest despite having two pipe bombs in his car this week may not be so lucky next time, thanks to new legislation.

On Friday, the attorney general’s office and the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association teamed up to ask lawmakers to make it a felony to possess or use a bomb.

The measure would close a loophole in Idaho law that has frustrated local prosecutors and police for years.

“Law enforcement has not been able to arrest, detain or proceed against people who clearly have explosive devices,” said Freeman Duncan, legislative liaison for the attorney general.

“It’s time we took some action against these people who pose this kind of threat to us all,” said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger.

Just this week, Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies discovered two pipe bombs in a car.

Although the bombs were packed with nails and had the explosive power of a hand grenade, deputies could not arrest the car’s driver on explosives charges.

In most places in Idaho, it is not against the law to possess a bomb. It is only a misdemeanor to have explosives within city limits.

Federal authorities can pursue charges against a person for having a “destructive device.” The recent Coeur d’Alene case, for example, has been forwarded to federal officials.

But in cases involving small bombs that don’t explode little federal action is taken.

Bob Harper, Spokane supervisor of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said federal officials look at the size of the device, damage done and intent of the individual caught with explosives.

It can be difficult to prosecute a case when someone caught with a pipe bomb claims they intended only to blast stumps.

“If they say their intent is not to do harm, then we have to prove otherwise,” Harper said.

Also, federal charges - which often result in lengthy prison terms - seem a bit harsh for first-time offenders caught with explosives who intended to do little more than prank vandalism, Harper said.

“What we have here in Idaho, is … either we prosecute them in the federal system or they walk free and get nothing,” he said.

Having an Idaho state law against explosives would help catch those inbetween cases, Harper said, “That would give the local authorities some option to pursue without sending them off to the federal penitentiary.”

The proposed law comes at a time when explosives incidents are increasing in the region. Harper estimates that about a dozen bombs have been detonated during the past year throughout the Inland Northwest. About four times that many have been found before they exploded, he estimated.

For example:

January 1996: Two Kootenai County homes were evacuated after deputies found a small bomb packed with nails and screws in a man’s truck. The case was forwarded to federal officials for possible charges.

April 1996: Police found two pipe bombs in the trunk of a car parked in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Sherman Avenue was shut down for several hours. James D. Dove, of Coeur d’Alene, was charged with a misdemeanor for having explosives within city limits, but the charge was later dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

May 1996: A small explosive device was found near Winton Elementary School where about 300 school children had been let out just an hour earlier. Barclay Bennett, of Coeur d’Alene, now faces a misdemeanor charge for the incident. His trial is scheduled for April.

June 1996: Another explosive device was found near the elementary school.

November 1996: A pipe bomb was found in a garage on Birch Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. The suspect is believed to have fled the state. The case is pending with the U.S. Attorney’s office for possible charges against the man.

“Do we want to wait until someone gets hurt before we can prosecute someone for having explosives?” asked Capt. Wolfinger. “In light of the number of explosives devices we’ve found here in the last year, it’s apparent people have no regard for the safety of others when they’re making these homemade devices.”

Wolfinger says the law proposed Friday is just what authorities need to help stem the problem.

But, last year, similar legislation was killed in a Senate committee. It was full of problems, Duncan said. It didn’t define the term “bomb” well. Any farmer could have been arrested for carrying potential bomb-making materials that typically are used for farm work.

The new law defines a bomb as any chemical or mixture of chemicals that are put together in such a way as to cause an explosion. In the legislation, fireworks, guns and flares do not constitute bombs. The materials must also be placed close enough to each other or be partially assembled to be classified as a bomb.

Violators could receive up to a $5,000 fine and five years in prison. People with valid permits - for industrial blasting, for example - would be exempt, as would on-duty military personnel and those who have explosives on their own property.

The legislation is next scheduled for a public hearing.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo