Bike leads police to suspected bomber
Months later, no charges have been laid after series of explosions in Penticton
A distinctive set of “ape hanger” bicycle handlebars led police to a suspect believed responsible for a series of pipe bombs that rattled Penticton earlier this year, but a search of his home didn’t turn up enough evidence to charge him, according to court documents.
About a month after sporadic reports of loud explosions began appearing on social media, Penticton RCMP announced on March 9 it had opened an investigation after finally discovering a pair blast sites: one at the Kings Park soccer fields and another on the grounds of Carmi Elementary School.
According to material filed by the RCMP to obtain a search warrant, there were actually two blasts in the bleachers at Kings Park, one around 2:30 a.m. on March 6 and another around 8 p.m. on March 7.
An officer who happened to be in the area of Kings Park for the second explosion found a piece of copper pipe below the bleachers and a chunk of metal conduit about 40 metres away.
“This distance leads me to believe the explosion was strong enough to launch metal a considerable distance from where it created the damage,” RCMP Cpl. Brent Huff wrote in his application for a warrant.
The next set of blasts took place just before midnight on March 8, when another pipe bomb was exploded on top of an electrical box near the bleachers at the Carmi baseball diamond.
“The blast had destroyed the lock and hinge as well as left a large dent in the box,” wrote Huff.
On March 11, police reviewed surveillance video from the area and noted what appeared to be a second blast and fire at approximately the same time as the other Carmi explosion, except it was off a walking path along Penticton Creek about 150 metres away.
A search of the trail area turned up two more pipe bombs, one of which was partially detonated while the other was still intact. At that point, local Mounties called in the Vancouver-based B.C. RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit.
“Given the safety concerns with the two potential explosive devices, EDU set up a safety area nearby and set off two controlled blasts to destroy the devices,” wrote Huff.
Members of the EDU were unable to determine what substance was used to create the explosions. However, the pipes recovered at all three scenes were linked to the same bomb maker because they were all drilled in a similar manner to allow insertion of a wick and appeared to have been crimped on each end with locking pliers.
Meanwhile, other investigators pored over surveillance footage and witness reports and homed in on a man who was observed leaving the blast sites on a bicycle with wideset handlebars described as “ape hangers” in the court documents.
The rider was seen on video departing King Parks at the same time as the second blast and paying “no apparent attention to the explosion,” wrote Huff.
“I found this behaviour suspicious, as I believe a reasonable person in the proximity of an explosion loud enough to generate police reports would likely stop, look at, or provide some reaction to this occurrence.”
Another officer who viewed the video recognized the distinctive bike and knew the rider to be a resident of the Burdock House supportive housing facility on Winnipeg Street.
Surveillance video subsequently obtained from Burdock House showed the man arriving home on his bike on March 8 just 12 minutes after the explosion at Carmi school.
That prompted police to seek the search warrant for his room at Burdock House to look for explosive substances, pipes, bomb-making tools, electronic devices that could have served as remote detonators, and white-and-black shoes and a light-coloured backpack seen on the suspect in the surveillance videos.
Mounties conducted the raid March 18 and seized only a grey backpack.
A week later, the Penticton RCMP detachment announced in a press release that a 50-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the case and told officers he “meant no harm to the community.”
At that time, police were still considering charges. As of this Friday, though, he still hadn’t been charged.
“I surmise there may not have been enough evidence to substantiate criminal charges,” said Penticton RCMP spokesman Const. James Grandy in an email.
“The courts require evidence to be submitted which have a substantial likelihood of conviction.”
The Okanagan Newspaper Group is not identifying the suspect because he hasn’t been charged.