D.A. to Delay on Car Bomb Charges
Prosecutors said Tuesday they will wait at least two weeks before deciding whether to formally charge two environmental activists accused by police of causing an explosion that nearly killed the pair last week.
Supporters of the two said the delay indicates police have a weak case and renewed their charge that someone tried to assassinate the activists to stop their efforts to preserve old-growth redwoods.
One of the activists, Darryl Cherney, 33, of Piercy, remained free on bail Tuesday. The other, Judi Bari, 40, of Redwood Valley, was still hospitalized.
Assistant Dist. Atty. Chris Carpenter said formal charges will be delayed until the FBI finishes testing physical evidence.
“We just like to have all the evidence in front of us before we file any charges,” Carpenter said. He declined to discuss the evidence taken from the remains of Bari’s car, which exploded Thursday in Oakland with Bari and Cherney inside, and from Cherney’s van and their Mendocino County homes.
Environmental activists who witnessed the raids said they saw agents seize wire, nails, duct tape and light bulbs.
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