A man accused outside the Colorado Springs branch of the NAACP in January pleaded guilty in Denver’s federal court Monday morning.
Thaddeus Cheyenne Murphy, 44, admitted to allegations of arson and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 3.
In June, Murphy with federal prosecutors in the case. Murphy, of Colorado Springs, told investigators he bombed the building , a motive that NAACP officials say they doubt.
“At the blast site itself, investigators found a piece of metal pipe as well as a piece of a road flare and the gas can,” Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Monday. “The gas can, which was about three-quarters full, failed to ignite. Analysis of the material recovered from the scene showed that the device used to cause the explosion and fire at the building was an improvised explosive device commonly known as a pipe bomb.”
The accountant in question, Steven Douglas DeHaven, had died six months earlier and building tenants say there were no tax preparation businesses there for at least 17 years before the bombing.
Records indicate DeHaven worked out of his house, not in the building that was bombed.
Murphy in February.
At the time of the July 3 bombing at 603 S. El Paso St., a barber shop and the NAACP offices were the building’s only occupants. No one was hurt in the blast.
Murphy faces between five and 20 years in federal prison for the arson charge and up to 10 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors say there is also a fine of not more than $250,000 for each of the two counts.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
