DES MOINES, Iowa—A Dubuque man charged with mailing threatening letters and dud pipe bombs to investment firms in an effort to drive up stock prices has been denied release from jail as he awaits trial.
John Tomkins, 46, has been in custody at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest in April 2007 on his way to work in Dubuque. A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois rejected Tomkins’ request for release last month.
It was Tomkins’ latest failure in his effort to gain his release. Another federal judge and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals have also rejected his motion to be freed from custody.
Tomkins, who worked as a machinist and is a former letter carrier, has been accused of sending the dud pipe bombs and letters, signed “The Bishop,” to investment companies in Denver and Kansas City, Mo.
An affidavit filed by postal inspectors said two parcels were mailed from Rolling Meadows, Ill., in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. One was addressed to an individual at Janus Small Cap, a mutual fund, and at an address in Denver, officials said. That parcel was later forwarded to an office in Chicago. Another package was addressed to a person at American Century in Kansas City.
Officials said each parcel contained what appeared to be a booby-trapped pipe bomb, but the firing circuit was not fully connected. If it had been, the devices could have exploded.
Tomkins has argued his detention is unconstitutional and he needs to be released to have more time to prepare for his April 2012 trial.
Tomkins is representing himself but court documents show he has an attorney on “stand-by” to assist him. A telephone message left for that attorney, Frank Lipuma, of Chicago, was not immediately returned.
In his Oct. 12 ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dows Jr. cited Tomkins’ filing of motions seeking more time to prepare, appealing rulings and his firing of three attorneys and decision to represent himself as the primary reasons for delays in getting the case to trial.
“The majority of the delays in bringing this case to trial are of Defendant’s own doing,” Dows wrote.
He also said Tomkins has “opted for the later of two proposed time frames for trial.”
Tomkins is charged with 10 counts of mailing threatening communications, two counts of illegal possession of a destructive device and one count of using a destructive device in connection with a crime of violence.
A search of Tomkins’ Dubuque home and two storage units turned up financial records showing he purchased stock in the two companies he sent threatening letters to, drafts of the threatening letters and documents and other records related to bomb making. Bomb making materials, two explosive devices similar to those mailed, including one that was packaged and ready to be mailed, also were seized, court records show.
In his ruling, Dows said he agreed with a previous judge’s assessment that although there is no evidence Tomkins would try to flee if he was released he “still would present a serious risk of danger to the community.”
Tomkins is appealing the decision.
