Rev. Owens Pleads Guilty in Bomb Case

The Rev. Dorman Owens pleaded guilty Tuesday to tampering with a witness in the attempted bombing of a San Diego abortion clinic. In return, the federal government dropped a multicount indictment against Owens for conspiring with members of his Bible Missionary Fellowship to bomb the clinic.

Five other church members pleaded guilty in the federal case, leaving only an associate pastor to stand trial.

Federal prosecutors said they agreed to drop the bombing conspiracy charges against Owens in return for the guilty plea because the witness-tampering charge carries a stiffer penalty. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a $50 penalty assessment on that charge.

Owens also pleaded guilty to a second count of knowing about the conspiracy but not reporting it to officials, and faces three years in prison, and an additional $250,000 fine and a $50 penalty. Prosecutors said they would only ask for probation on that charge.

Larry Burns, assistant U.S. attorney, said he will ask that Owens receive 15 to 20 months in prison when he is sentenced May 31.

Fair Disposition of the Case

“I think this is a fair disposition of the case,” Burns said. “We are sending a message to the community that this type of behavior won’t be tolerated.”

However, the fact that Owens was not personally held accountable for the bombing conspiracy drew an immediate sharp reaction from one local women’s clinic director who attended the Tuesday hearing.

“I don’t think that’s enough time in prison,” said Deborah Fleming of Womancare, one of three clinics that law enforcement officials have said the church members targeted for bombings. “I don’t think that’s very long for him, being in a leadership position like he is. He could have killed somebody.”

Owens, held without bail in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since he was charged in November, was released Tuesday night on $515,000 bail. He refused to comment as he was whisked out of jail, flanked by his wife and son, and into a waiting car.

His attorney, Thomas Warwick, said that the Santee pastor was repentant.

“As he says it, he has sinned and he must atone for that,” Warwick said. “He’s a very, very remorseful man. He wishes this had never happened. And obviously, like the earlier part of his life, the rest of his life will be exemplary.”

Many members of the Bible Missionary Fellowship, based in Santee and with branch churches in Poway and Ramona, have long been active in the anti-abortion movement. Owens and his fundamental Baptist followers have been often picketted abortion clinics and the homosexual gatherings.

Anti-Abortion Conference

According to law enforcement officials, two of the church members attended an anti-abortion conference in Atlanta last May. When they returned to San Diego County, an inner circle of church members began plotting to bomb three clinics. Meetings were held, both at the church and at Owens’ home in El Cajon. Late-night surveillance of abortion clinics by some church members was conducted, the officials said.

Eric Svelmoe, a church member, was arrested July 27, after placing a pipe bomb at the door of the Family Planning Associates Medical Group on Alvarado Road. The bomb did not detonate. Svelmoe later was wired for sound by federal authorities so they could eavesdrop on Owens’ jail visit with him. Svelmoe has pleaded guilty in the case and is awaiting sentencing.

Burns said the federal government is continuing the investigation and could bring charges against others involved with the conspiracy.

On Tuesday, those pleading guilty, along with Owens, before U.S. District Judge Earl B. Gilliam were:

- Christopher Harmon, who said Tuesday that he “had gone home on vacation” to Ohio and, while there, helped obtain gunpowder to be used in the bombing. He said he held discussions about the bomb with other church members “while on the street in El Cajon.”

He pleaded guilty to the first conspiracy count in the indictment in return for dismissal of the other five counts. He had earlier surrendered to federal marshals and was returned to Metropolitan Correctional Center after Tuesday’s hearing.

He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a $50 penalty assessment. He could also be further imprisoned as the result of probation revocation.

(A probation revocation hearing against Harmon is pending in San Diego Municipal Court in a case in which he was convicted of shooting a man with a stun gun outside an abortion clinic.)

- Robin Harmon, Christopher Harmon’s wife, who admitted sending a package of gunpowder to California while visiting her parents in Ohio. She also admitted attending meetings with other church members involved in the conspiracy three weeks before the attempted bombing.

“She had a small baby with her so she was out of the room much of the time,” her attorney, Juanita Brooks, told the judge. “But she still knew what the discussions were about.”

Robin Harmon pleaded guilty to one felony count of having knowledge of the conspiracy but doing nothing to stop it, and one misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting the unlawful storage of gunpowder.

Burns said he will recommend probation for her and that if she successfully completes her probation, he will ask that the felony conviction be stricken from her record.

However, Judge Gilliam reminded her that he is not bound by the prosecutor’s recommendations and that he could sentence her to a total of four years in prison, a $350,000 fine and a $75 penalty.

- Cheryl Sullenger, who said she met with Svelmoe in Santee. “We talked about plans to have a bomb placed and I provided him gunpowder,” she said.

- Randall Sullenger, Cheryl Sullenger’s husband, who said he “supplied Eric Svelmoe with a piece of pipe to be used for a destructive device.”

Both Sullengers pleaded guilty to the first count in the indictment in return for the dismissal of the others. They each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a $50 penalty assessment. They asked the judge that their sentences be staggered so they would not be in prison at the same time.

- Jo Ann Kreipal, who said she introduced Svelmoe to the other conspirators. She faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a $50 penalty assessment. She asked that she be placed in a federal prison facility in California.

Only one defendant refused to agree to the plea bargain. Kenneth Felder, the church’s associate pastor, faces trial on conspiracy charges.

According to the indictment, Felder met with Owens and Svelmoe at Owens’ home just seven days before the attempted bombing “to further discuss the plan to damage and destroy the Alvarado Medical Center by placing an explosive device there.”

His trial is scheduled to begin March 15, but Burns indicated to the judge that he may withdraw the current indictment and refile charges dealing specifically with Felder. That could delay the start of the trial until April.

In the case of Owens, Burns said he did not object to the pastor’s release on the $515,000 bail because Owens has now pleaded guilty and that it was unlikely he will flee.

Warwick said the Owens family and a group of close friends pledged their personal property for the bail, but that no church property was included. He also said that while there are no bail restrictions precluding Owens from future picketing at abortion clinics, he has advised his client to “take a rest from that” kind of activity.

During the hearing, Owens spoke little, addressing himself only in short answers to the judge’s queries about his role in attempting to influence Svelmoe not to testify against other church members.

“I suggested to Eric that he leave certain people’s names out of his testimony that were not really involved,” he told the judge.

Numerous Court Hearings

He added that he attempted to influence Svelmoe in the Metropolitan Correctional Center because he wanted “a certain amount it (of information) not to get to the authorities.”

“The purpose was to not involve people who were not directly involved so they wouldn’t have to involve lawyers,” he said.

Owens’ relatives, many of whom have stood by his side during numerous court hearings, refused to discuss the case as they left the courthouse Tuesday. The Rev. Paul Owens, the minister’s son, indicated he was worried about saying anything before his father’s sentencing.

“I have no comment,” Paul Owens said. “It’s not over. You heard the judge.”