Ore. bank bomb suspect's father arrested

SALEM, Ore., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The father of a man accused in a deadly bank bomb explosion in Oregon was arrested Tuesday, police said.

Bruce Turnidge, 57, of rural Marion County, was expected to be arraigned Thursday on charges of conspiracy to manufacture an explosive device and conspiracy to possess an explosive device, The (Portland) Oregonian) reported. Turnidge's arrest came the same day his 32-year-old son Joshua was arraigned in Marion County Circuit Court.

The son, who was arrested Monday, faces six counts of aggravated murder, accusations of manufacture of a destructive device, possession of a destructive device, first- and second-degree assault, and related conspiracy counts. He didn't enter a plea and was appointed two attorneys.

Officers combed the 750-acre farm where the elder Turnidge lives, The Oregonian said.

The father-son duo are suspected in the Friday explosion at a bank in Woodburn that claimed the lives of two police officers and wounded a third along with a bank employee.

Authorities said in a statement Tuesday that a Wells Fargo Bank had received a phone threat Friday telling people to leave the building or they would all die. Investigators found a disposable cell phone and several black bags next to a garbage can but determined it was a hoax and left. However, a manager at the West Coast Bank next door found a green metal box under some bushes and when officers returned and picked it up, thinking it, too, was a hoax, it detonated.