Second Bomb Plot Suspect Denied Bail
The second of two suspected militia members accused of plotting to blow up a California propane plant has been denied bail by a judge who deemed him a flight risk and a threat to the community.
Kevin Patterson, 42, was ordered returned to the Sacramento County Jail on Monday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Dale Drozd, who directed jail officials to look into his possible need for diabetes medication.
FBI agents arrested Patterson and Charles Kiles, 49, this month on suspicion of participation in an alleged militia plot to blow up two huge tanks containing 24 million gallons of propane in Elk Grove, a suburb of Sacramento. The resulting firestorm could have killed as many as half the people within a five-mile radius of the plant and was allegedly intended to spark an uprising against the U.S. government, officials said.
Both men were indicted on firearms charges by a federal grand jury. Although none of the charges mentions the alleged plot specifically, prosecutors say their investigation of the men continues.
The two defendants have pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys have denied any connection to the alleged plot.
Kiles, who was convicted in 1992 of possessing illegal weapons and silencers, was denied bail shortly after his Dec. 3 arrest.
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