LOS ANGELES : Bail Refused for Suspect in 1980 Mail-Bomb Murder
A federal judge refused Wednesday to set bail for William Ross, a former Hawthorne real estate agent accused of complicity in the 1980 mail-bomb murder of a Manhattan Beach secretary.
Ross, 57, fled to Canada in July, 1992, a month before he was indicted a second time in connection with the bombing. He was arrested there Nov. 23. Jurors deadlocked in an earlier trial of Ross and co-defendant Rochelle Manning, 53.
Manning’s husband, Robert, was convicted Oct. 14 of federal charges stemming from the attack and faces a likely life prison term when he is sentenced later this month. Rochelle Manning is still fighting extradition from Israel.
Ross was denied bail after his return to Los Angeles, but Wednesday sought a new hearing on the issue from U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian. Attorney Mitchell Egers said Ross fled to escape the “pain and humiliation” of another arrest.
Egers said the agents who originally arrested Ross did so in front of his family and friends, purposely tightened handcuffs until they hurt and refused to let him use the bathroom. The attorney added that Ross was willing to put up “everything he owns” as bail, assets worth $2 million.
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