Mary Wehmeier's Blog Du Jour

Yesterday about 5 PM Pacific Time, Luke J. Helder, AKA Mailbomb Boy was arrested after he tried to outrun the Nevada Highway Patrol for over 50 miles on I-80. The car chase exceeded over 100 mph at times . Federal authorities were tipped off by his father after a letter he received according to court documents filed Wednesday. Obviously Dad wasn't thrilled at the letter he got from Luke.

The hand-written letter, Helder told investigators, referred to death and dying and contained several anti-government comments. (A Copy of the one Luke sent to the University of Wisconsin Newspaper is here. ) After receiving the letter at his home in Pine Island, Minn., Cameron Helder talked by phone with his son's roommate in Menomonie. The roommate, James Divine, and two friends searched Luke Helder's bedroom and found clues under the bed that suggested Helder might be involved in the bombings. They found a bag with nails, paper clips, a funnel and two plastic bottles labeled shotgun or gun powder, according to the court papers. Not good. AP also reported they found the reciept where he bought everything at THE SAME STORE! Duh!

When Luke Helder called his friends that same day, they patched him through to his father, according to the documents. Helder told his father that there was a change of plans and spoke of dying if "this" didn't work out. "I may have to blow myself away," Luke Helder told his father, who then called authorities. [From Minn StarTribune May 9, 2002] He had the guns. Oh well.

ALL IT TAKES IS ONE PERSON-- Lori McDonagh didn't think much of the man in a gray Honda who passed her car on a lonely stretch of highway east of Reno. But there was something about the way he was reading as he drove that caught her attention...The FBI said Helder was caught in part because the agency had earlier picked up a signal from his cell phone in northern Nevada. But McDonagh and her mother gave authorities an eyewitness sighting. McDonagh's mother, Marge Walker, 51, was driving McDonagh and her 9-month-old son from their home in Winnemucca to Dayton, 180 miles away, on Tuesday when the westbound Honda Accord passed them on Interstate 80. "As he drove past, I noticed the license plate was blue. In Nevada we're gray. I asked my mother, 'Are those Minnesota plates?''' Damn! Someone with eyes in their head and a brain! Two hours earlier, McDonagh had logged onto the Internet and read a news report about an all-points bulletin issued for a 21-year-old college student from Pine Island, Minn. There was a reference to a Honda with Minnesota plates. Should we invite her to join us Kathy and Fred? Jeeze at least we should buy her a drink! When the car passed the family, it stayed in front of them for a few miles and McDonagh remembered the news story. "That's a Honda Accord,'' she told her mother. "That's the kid. She goes, 'Oh my gosh.' She blurted out the license plate number. I got a piece of paper out while she kept chanting it.''They debated for a few minutes before deciding to call 911. "The officer that I got, I told him I don't know if this is real,'' McDonagh said. "As soon as I gave him the license plate number, he goes, 'That's him. That's the guy.''' McDonagh also called the FBI and said within five or 10 minutes, police cars had blocked exits and the right traffic lane. Helder was arrested after a brief chase.Yeah in excess of 100 mph! ``Had we not noticed he had maps on his lap, I don't know if it would have caught our attention as much,'' McDonagh said. ``I-80 is dead. You get a car every few miles.'' McDonagh, who worked as a nurse, said she's not sure why she was able to connect the news story to the passing car. Because she's got a brain, ya dim-witted journalist! ``It was just meant to be,'' she said. ``You always hear one person can make a difference. You can ... It's just being alert, watching the news and reading the papers. Just one little tidbit was all that we needed to get this guy.'' Atta way Lori! This is our poster girl for being an alert All-American. At the least we should buy Lori and her Mom dinner! Actually the FBI should give them an award! [From Minn StarTribune May 9, 2002]

Cell phone tracking led FBI to Helder Ron Harris AP writes about how the FBI used Helder's Cell Phone to track him...

FBI sources said Helder admitted making 24 pipe bombs and used a map to show authorities where he planted some of them � 18 in five states. Six more devices were recovered from his car. So he wasn't done yet. Helder was denied bail at a federal court hearing today in Reno, Nev., after a judge decided that he was a flight risk. No shit. Or a target. He will be sent back to Iowa, (Yes yes yes... bring him back here where we can give him a proper trial.) where one of the devices exploded and injured an elderly woman, (Delores Werling- very SERIOUSLY INJURED, as well as several other people) to face more charges. Helder is facing charges in at least three of the states (Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska for a start.) where he allegedly planted the devices � charges that could carry life in prison. [ABCNEWS.com]

MOM AND DAD DON'T LOOK PLEASED-- Cameron Helder, left, and his wife, Pamela, second from right, the parents of pipe bombing suspect Luke Helder, are escorted by federal authorities to a waiting vehicle after arriving at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nev., early Thursday morning, May 9, 2002. The couple left their Pine Island, Minn., home Wednesday, and flew from Minneapolis to visit their son who is in the Washoe County Jail. Reno, NV. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) These folks look in shock. They have no clue how much hell this little brat is going to give them. Pray they consider him an adult and these folks don't get stuck with the bill.

Washoe County Sheriff Dennis Balaam said he arranged for Helder to talk with his parents by telephone Wednesday morning. He said Helder was put on a suicide watch overnight. What? Too much meth? "In my conversation with him, I asked whether he was on any medication or thought he would do himself any harm," the sheriff said. "He said, `No,' that he was ready to face the day," he said. However I highly doubt he's ready to face Mom and Dad and a whole pack of shrinks who want to get into his head.

AP has mentioned... "Citing his writings and statements from friends, however, the FBI said Helder had become obsessed recently with death and the afterlife. And last fall, when he was cited in Menomonie for possession of a marijuana pipe, leading to a $151 fine, he told the officer something to the effect of "Is this what government is for?" Sheriff Dennis Smith said. BINGO FRED. You're batting 100%.

...His capture ended a virtually nonstop driving stint during which he did little to conceal his identity. He checked into the Nebraska motel under his own name and used his credit card at a gas station. So he's not a rocket scientist. (1. Cell phone 2. Using Credit card. 3. Using name at hotel. 4. Getting picked up for traffic violations 3 times.) Do I get a bingo here?

Helder's Terrorism Indictments and Complaints - full text of indictments and criminal complaints, with links to corresponding law(s) allegedly broken by defendants. are at FindLaw in pdf. This should make a good bedtime story.

He's also admitted to putting all the bombs in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Texas and Colorado in the various mailboxes. In plotting out the map-- it was possible. He just started earlier than first thought. Comments?