PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- An Oregon father and son accused of a 2008 bank bombing had anti-government sentiments and had long planned to commit a robbery, prosecutors said.
During a hearing Thursday ahead of the Sept. 29 trial of Bruce Turnidge and Joshua Turnidge, prosecutors provided an overview of what they think motivated the pair, who allegedly set off a bomb at a West Coast Bank in Woodburn, The (Portland) Oregonian reported. Two police officers were killed, and another officer and a bank employee were injured in the blast.
Prosecutors plan to call witnesses about statements the two suspects allegedly made over the years to show anti-government zealotry and a hatred of police, Deputy District Attorney Katie Suver said.
One witness is expected to testify that Bruce Turnidge pumped his fist during news coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing, Suver said. The witness will tell the court Turnidge said the government needed to be put in its place and that the bombing was a "good thing," she added.
Suver said the state will also introduce evidence to show that money from a bank robbery was intended to fund a militia-type organization, even though Bruce Turnidge's lawyers said there was no evidence he was involved in such a group.
The judge agreed to bar prosecutors from introducing in opening statements the allegations made by Joshua Turnidge's high school friend, Ronald Laughlin, who told investigators that after high school, Turnidge spoke of robbing banks and allegedly phoned in a threat to a U.S. Bank in 1995. The judge said he may allow the information during the trial.
The state is seeking the death penalty in the aggravated murder trial, which is predicted to stretch into December, The Oregonian reported.
