The working theory early on was that the NAACP had been the target of the attack — and as we noted, the organization's president, Cornell William Brooks, scheduled a series of events in the community following the explosion.
This month, Thaddeus Cheyenne Murphy was arrested for the crime, and he's currently being held without bond.
However, federal investigators now believe he wasn't targeting the NAACP. Rather, he was going after another resident of the complex: an accountant who he thought had done him wrong.
In our original report, we noted that a a joint release from El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder, Fountain Police Chief Todd Evans, President Henry Allen Jr. of the Colorado Springs NAACP and Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey about the January 6 detonation of an improvised device mentioned another business in the complex.
But it wasn't the accountant in question. Rather, it was Mr. G's Hair Design Studio.
No note or message was left confirming that the NAACP office was the target of the blast, and no one was hurt.
However, the release stressed that "the investigation into this criminal act is a high priority and is being conducted as a joint effort with local and federal law enforcement resources," including the FBI, which released a sketch of a possible suspect/person of interest in the case that, in retrospect, doesn't look much like Murphy:
In an interview with Westword, Rosemary Lytle, president of the NAACP Colorado Montana Wyoming State Conference, noted the sketch's "lack of specificity."
As for whether the NAACP was the target of the bombing, Lytle said, "The branch president reported some threats to him personally, and at least one person showed up at the branch with a complaint about police interactions. Those threats came out after the bombing happened — and it's our belief that the police are looking at one other person who came to the office to complain about the lack of engagement with police. But it was very unclear to us how they were going to move forward to identify this person, and we're asking questions calling for greater clarity."
Several more weeks passed before Murphy's arrest, and the complaint filed against him, on view below, provided some interesting revelations. Here's an excerpt, based on his interview with investigators:
An accountant by the name of Steve Dehaven wouldn't return to him (Murphy) his tax records from 2006 to the present and wouldn't return his phone calls.Earlier this week, as 9News points out, Murphy was indicted by a federal grand jury for the bombing, which could net him ten years behind bars and a $250,000 fine on the most serious charge against him.
Dehaven operated his business out of a building located at 603 South El Paso, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Murphy had to declare bankruptcy and needed the records because he had financial issues.
Murphy believed Dehaven destroyed his tax records. Murphy admitted to manufacturing a pipe bomb.
Murphy believed that he set the pipe bomb outside of Dehaven's office on January 6, 2015.
Murphy believed that Dehaven and his son intentionally were keeping him (Murphy) from his tax records and were giving him the run-around.
Murphy stated that he "flipped out" because of his financial problems.
The U.S. Attorney's Office reveals that he's being held without bond.
Look below to see another booking photo of Thaddeus Murphy, followed by the complaint against him.
Thaddeus Cheyenne Murphy Complaint
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