DENVER – The man accused of leaving a bomb outside the Nederland Police Department last month was formally read his charges in federal court in Denver Monday.
David Ansberry, 64, is charged with use and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was indicted on the charge Nov. 2.
Ansberry appeared in court Monday in a wheelchair. He is a little person and has a spinal condition that requires he use pain medication.
Monday’s hearing lasted less than five minutes. Ansberry was formally advised of the WMD charge and read his rights. He asked for the court to appoint him attorney, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ansberry allegedly dropped the explosive device off in backpack outside the police station sometime in the early-morning hours of Oct. 11. An officer took it into police headquarters before realizing the explosive was inside. Bomb squads eventually detonated the backpack.
Days later, Ansberry was captured in the Chicago area. He was identified as the suspect by people who had seen him near the police station around the time the bomb was place.
Another identifier was an old “STP” sticker placed on a business nearby, which led authorities to Ansberry because he was associated with the STP Family, a gang of mostly transients that lived in the Boulder area in the 1960s and ‘70s.
Asnberry is next due in court Wednesday afternoon, where evidence as to what comprised the alleged bomb is expected to be presented. Prosecutors are expected to ask the judge to keep him jailed during the court process.
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