Joshua and Bruce Turnidge, the father-and-son duo accused of bombing the West Coast Bank on December 12, have once again appeared in court.
The two appeared before Circuit Judge Joe Ochoa in a joint arraignment at 8 a.m. on December 26. They have been indicted by a grand jury on multiple counts of aggravated murder.Both men pleaded Not Guilty.
Journalist Maxine Berstein of the Oregonian describes the charges:
The multiple counts of aggravated murder, which can carry the death penalty, stem from different theories involved in each death: that the suspects caused the intentional death of multiple people in the same incident, caused the death of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, caused the intentional death by explosives, caused felony murder in the course of committing a first-degree robbery and caused felony murder in the course of committing criminal mischief with an explosive.
If convicted, the men could receive the death penalty.
Thelma Guerrero-Huston of the Statesman Journal describes the charges laid in the indictment this way:
The grand jury returned an 18-count indictment on Dec. 22.
Both were formally charged with 10 counts of aggravated murder; three counts of attempted aggravated murder; one count each of first-degree assault and second-degree assault, unlawful manufacturing of a destructive device, possession of a destructive device and conspiracy to commit aggravated murder.
Ms. Bernstein quotes a local official who explains the reasoning behind the broad array of charges:
"I'd be careful about narrowing their motive down to one separate thing," Marion County deputy district attorney Matt Kemmy said afterward. "The reason we charge so many different theories is so the indictment can accurately reflect their criminal conduct." Both men are being held without bail. Oddly, despite the many counts of aggravated murder in the indictment and the assumption of robbery or extortion as the motive, no one has yet explained how the bomb fit into the suspect's plans. It was planted outside the bank, so it could not have been used to blow open a vault. Was it meant to murder passersby at random? If it was, how did that further the alleged plot? Was it meant to intimidate bank officials? Ms. Bernstein notes that in their previous court appearances both men had been wearing the sleeveless, quilted jumpsuits and sandals that are issued to inmates on suicide watch. At their most recent appearance, they had switched to ordinary prison uniforms. There will be another court session concerning the case on January 6, but neither man is expected to appear. Little was known about Joshua and Bruce Turnidge immediately after their arrests. Residents of the Woodburn area described the Turnidge clan as respectable members of the community, but shrugged that Bruce and Joshua Turnidge were "reclusive." A few relatives expressed disbelief that either man would do something so violent, and the brother of Turnidge's live-in girlfriend described Joshua as a churchgoer. With time, however, more negative descriptions are surfacing. Ex-friend and neighbor John Falen, a Nevada farmer, was interview by the FBI after the bombing. Bruce and Joshua Turnidge lived in Nevada from at least 1996 to 2006. In an interview with the Statesman Journal, Mr. Falen painted Bruce Turnidge as anti-government but nonviolent: "I didn't think it was in him to do this (bombing), but he's been anti-government and anti-authority for a long time," John Falen, a Nevada farmer and rancher, said this week in a telephone interview with the Statesman Journal.
...
"I just told them he was always critical of the establishment and all that," he said, "but I had no idea he'd ever do what he's been charged with — him or Josh, either one."
Falen's son, Frank, is a Wyoming property rights attorney who became acquainted with Bruce Turnidge during a legal dispute between Turnidge and John Falen. He describes Bruce Turnidge as paranoid, litigious and self-promoting.
"He's one of those folks who when you're around him enough, after a while it becomes obvious that he thinks everybody he's ever been around has screwed him," he said. "The Turnidges always had a story about how so and so had done this or that bad thing to them, which is why they were down and out."
...
"Bruce is one of those guys who's always got some big deal cooked up, about to make a bunch of money," he said. "I remember a bunch of those stories that started being less credible and less credible. He's not honest. He just has lots of big stories to tell." This article by Alan Gustafson in the Statesman Journal offers some details of Bruce and Joshua Turnidge's stay in Nevada. The elder Turnidge was unsuccessful in running a farm there, and defaulted on several loans. He also attempted to start a business erecting cell phone towers, but lost a legal dispute with Wireless Allicane Inc. when he did not pay a subcontractor for repairs. He was also sued by a collection agency in November 2007 for unpaid credit card debts. Frank Falen recalls seeing Joshua Turnidge with his daughter in Nevada. The little girl, now ten, was at the center of a custody dispute between Turnidge and his ex-wife in 2002. Turnidge's ex-wife accused him in court of alcoholism and violence (she claimed he received a dishonorable discharge from the Navy, a charge that has never been confirmed). Court documents appear to show, however, that the ex-Mrs. Turnidge was herself an alcoholic with a history of domestic violence. Joshua Turnidge took out a restraining order against her after she attacked him with a bottle of bleach, and after their divorce,in March 2002, she was arrested for attacking her live-in boyfriend, sending him to the hospital. Mr. Falen and Salem lawyer Dennis Messoline have both reported that Turnidge was eventually given custody of the child. To my knowledge, no Navy official has yet come forward with any statement regarding Joshua Turnidge's service or discharge, and there does not yet appear to be any alcohol-related charges against him in Oregon or Nevada. As new witnesses continue to surface, that could change. You can read the indictment against the Turnidge men here.
In you first question, it's provable lie, not probable lie.
The provable lie is listed on page six of the PC document.
"Mr. Turnridge went on to say things that his Fiancee, Jamie Lewis would contradict when later interviewed"
The reason the laptop was mentioned is that they were looking for the computer that activated the phones from IP address 71.59.129.128
As an update, Joshua's father was arrested and the probable cause statement of his arrest is here
http://blog.oregonlive.com/news_impact/2008/12/brucetcause.pdf
This is essentially the same statement as above, with a couple more pages describing the evidence against Bruce Turnidge. Interesting evidence found on the farm, including a burned laptop.
Thanks, Flock!
I'm embarrassed I didn't put that together myself. DUH.