Authorities have stopped investigating the bombing of a van owned by the Navy skipper who ordered the 1988 shooting down of an Iranian airplane, a newspaper reported Thursday.
Investigators never developed a strong enough case to file charges in the March 10, 1989, bombing, the Los Angeles Times reported. The newspaper cited four sources in Washington and California it identified only as familiar with the investigation.Mike Bourke, assistant director of the Naval Investigative Service office in San Diego, said the case remains open. He would not elaborate.
Sharon Rogers escaped injury when the van belonging to her husband, Capt. Will Rogers III, exploded as she was driving to work.
At the time, Rogers was skipper of the guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes. He gave the July 1988 order to shoot down an approaching Iranian airplane he believed was going to attack his ship in the Persian Gulf.