A man wanted in connection with a bombing spree in Grand Junction, Colo., will be returning to face federal charges.
His hands shackled to his waist, Robert L. Burke, 54, appeared to struggle to sign a waiver of identity in federal court in Salt Lake City on Thursday. He smiled and chatted with his defense attorney as he appeared before Federal Magistrate Robert Nuffer on a warrant, charging him with possession of an unregistered firearm or destructive device.
Burke is accused of placing crudely made bombs outside five of his co-workers' homes in Grand Junction on March 24. Three of them went off. Two were disrupted by bomb technicians, police said. Burke is also suspected in a Feb. 1 bombing at an office building in Murfreesboro, Tenn., that housed offices of his employer.
In federal charges unsealed Wednesday night, agents with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Burke is suspected in a Feb. 28 bombing at a home in Derby, Kan.
FBI agents said Burke worked as an air-traffic controller in Grand Junction. He was employed by Serco Management Services, which is contracted by the Federal Aviation Administration. According to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday night, Burke was fired from his job in January 2004 for threatening co-workers. Serco Management Services air traffic manager Gary Mueller described an encounter to FBI agents.
"Burke talked about the two guns he owned, including a .357 handgun," an FBI affidavit filed with the criminal charges states. "Mueller asked Burke why he needed two guns. Burke stated that it was to increase Burke's killing power."
Mueller's home was one of those targeted in the bombings. After March 24, FBI agents said Burke disappeared until he contacted a reporter for the Grand Junction Sentinel newspaper.
A man who claimed to be a friend of Burke's called the newspaper to request reporter Gary Harmon meet him in Provo at noon Thursday. The caller said Burke had information he wanted made public.
"We believed the person who called us was in fact Burke, and we notified authorities of our planned meeting," said Dennis Herzog, managing editor of The Daily Sentinel.
Burke was taken into custody by a joint force of agents from the ATF, Grand Junction Police Department and Orem Police Department behind the Wal-Mart in Orem at about 10 p.m., Wednesday.
"When you've got a situation like this, time is of the essence," said Marvin Richardson, assistant special agent in charge of the ATF office in Phoenix. "You don't want a person like this on the streets."
In July 2005, ATF agents said Burke was involved in a transaction to buy a used ambulance from a couple in Derby, Kan. After paying for it, he refused to take possession. The couple eventually considered the ambulance abandoned and sold it again. They mailed the reduced proceeds to Burke, but the envelope came back unopened.
"On February 28, 2006, a device of uniquely similar design to those found in Grand Junction was found exploded on the porch of a neighbor," ATF agents said in an affidavit. The address was mixed up with the victims' home address.
An attorney for the couple told Grand Junction police that Burke had sent a threatening e-mail to them.
"No need to respond to this e-mail..I have my own timetable...and time is ticking by..I've already contacted some PI's for their rates.. If/when it comes time to get 'the information' I will...And then...My Farewell Tour will begin," Burke allegedly wrote.
On March 24, Grand Junction police served a warrant on a storage unit maintained by Burke. Inside, police found an address book.
"Within the address book was a separate piece of paper containing the names and phone number of at least three of the Grand Junction victims, as well as the address of the Serco office in Murphysboro, Tennessee," FBI agents wrote in the affidavit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney for Colorado Dave Gaouette said they plan to take the case to a grand jury for a possible indictment against Burke.
Contributing: Jeremy Twitchell, Associated Press
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com