Costa Mesa Man Convicted in Deadly Mail Bombing

A Costa Mesa man was convicted Wednesday of sending a mail bomb that exploded, mortally wounding the roommate of the intended target, a transsexual prostitute who had spurned his romantic advances.

Darryl Anthony Carr, 35, could get life imprisonment when he is sentenced April 26 for unlawfully manufacturing a destructive device, using an explosive during the commission of a felony, mailing an explosive device that resulted in death and using a destructive device during a crime of violence.

“Obviously, this is a very significant case,” said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, which prosecuted the case.

Carr, an auto body painter, acknowledged during the trial that he picked up Martha Galindo, known by the street name “Jenny,” in 1995 and that the relationship evolved into a friendship.

Prosecutors said Carr was in love with Galindo and became increasingly frustrated when she rebuffed his sexual advances.

Carr sent the bomb on Feb. 5, 1998, to Galindo’s Santa Ana home. The device exploded the next day when Galindo’s roommate, Peter Marshall, opened the package. Marshall, 36, was in a coma for several months before dying of his injuries.