52 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
52 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
#: 103
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11-Dec-86 20:25 MST
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Sb: APca 12/08 Church Bomb
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Fm: Executive News Svc. [72135,424]
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To: 72135,424
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LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Police held a man without bail in the
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attempted bombing of a church criticized by some former members for
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alleged claims to cure disease.
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"We have an idea what the motive might be, but I'm not at
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liberty to discuss it," said Sgt. Paul Milovich, who said up to 10
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sticks of dynamite were in the device that only partially exploded.
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Thomas T. McCoy, 26, was arrested and booked early Sunday after
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he was seen by church members sitting in a car near the Morningland
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Temple of Cosmology, Ontology and Metaphysics, police said.
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Milovich said it had not been determined whether McCoy was ever
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a member of the sect, which has been criticized by former members
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in recent newspaper stories.
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McCoy was booked for investigation of igniting a destructive
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device, possession of a destructive device and carrying a concealed
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weapon, said Lt. Rod Mickelson. The weapon was .45-caliber
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automatic gun, he said.
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The bomb, left on a ledge separating the church from an adjacent
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facility, apparently failed to go off Saturday because the wiring
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got wet during an early morning rainstorm, said Morningland
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attorney Edward Masry. He said 10 people were inside the church at
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the time.
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"The strip between the buildings was drenched by rain," Masry
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said. "That probably saved a lot of lives."
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Only the device's detonator went off, police said. The bomb was
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made of sticks of dynamite wired to a car battery, and Mickelson
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said it could have leveled the church and possibly nearby buildings
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if it had gone off.
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Nearby residents were evacuated until a Los Angeles County
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sheriff's bomb squad removed the bomb. The dynamite was taken to
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the beach at the foot of Cherry Avenue and detonated.
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The church was established in 1973 and run by "Sri Donato," a
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52-year-old Long Beach woman whose real name is Patricia Sperato.
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The church blends Christian and Eastern religious beliefs,
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astrology and popular culture. The Long Beach Press-Telegram was
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told by former Morningland members that the church is a cult which
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claims to cure any ailment including AIDS.
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The newspaper also reported that former members have said male
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church members are pressured into undergoing vasectomies,
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heterosexuals are talked into engaging in homosexual relationships
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and members are asked to go to prostitutes.
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"I have no knowledge of any such activities," Masry has said.
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Long Beach is 20 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles.
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