Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Bombing Suspect’s Bail Set at $1.2 Million

A judge set bail at $1.2 million Thursday for a Monrovia man accused of setting off pipe bombs in Lancaster beneath his ex-wife’s pickup truck and motor home.

After approving the steep bail for Charles Edwin Smith, 70, Antelope Municipal Court Judge Ian R. Grant postponed Smith’s arraignment until today) to give Smith time to complete the hiring of his defense attorney.

Smith was charged with two counts of exploding a destructive device with intent to intimidate, terrorize or destroy property; one count of manufacturing a destructive device and one count of making terrorist threats.

If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 12 years in state prison, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Smalstig. Investigators believe the bombing incidents stem from a bitter marital breakup. “He’s been threatening to kill his ex-wife,” the prosecutor said. “The evidence I have is that he appears to have been stalking her the past six years.”

Sheriff’s deputies have alleged that Smith placed a pipe bomb late Monday beneath his ex-wife’s pickup, which was parked in a driveway outside a house in the 1100 block of Herzel Avenue. The ex-wife, Rini Duzanne, 51, was inside the house, which belongs to her daughter from a previous marriage.

No one was injured in the blast, which caused an estimated $4,000 damage to the truck, deputies said.

Smith also is charged in connection with a March 26 explosion that damaged Duzanne’s motor home, which was parked behind a Lancaster restaurant. Duzanne was not inside at the time, and no injuries were reported.

Smalstig said Los Angeles Fire Department investigators are trying to determine whether Smith is linked to an arson at the Chatsworth house in which Duzanne was living last December. No charges have been filed in connection with that incident.

Duzanne said she left her husband in 1988 and that her divorce became final last November.

At today’s arraignment, Smith, who remained in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of bail, will enter a plea to the criminal charges.

Attorney Michael C. Eberhardt, who will represent Smith, said he will seek a reduction in the $1.2-million bail. Eberhardt said he will ask the judge to consider Smith’s age, his health and his reputation.

“My understanding is that he is a very stable person, that he is a well-known and respected person in his community and has never had any legal problems in the past,” the attorney said.