FBI - Suspect admitted making pipe bombs, planting them

Associated Press WriterRENO, Nev. (AP) -- The FBI said Wednesday that 21-year-old college student Luke Helder confessed to planting 18 pipe bombs in rural mailboxes in five states. Six people were injured in the spree.

Using a map, Helder pointed to towns where he placed eight bombs in Illinois and Iowa on Friday, FBI agent Mark Heavrin said in an affidavit. The bombs were planted along with notes that carried an anti-government message.

Helder admitted he made 16 more bombs in a room at a Nebraska motel near Omaha and placed 10 of them in Nebraska, Colorado and Texas during the weekend, Heavrin said. The other six bombs were found with him when he was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.

The suspect's father and an alert motorist led to the arrest of Helder of Pine Island, Minn., who majored in art at a university in Wisconsin and sang in a punk band called Apathy.

He was arrested along Interstate 80 some 50 miles east of Reno after a high-speed chase and a cell phone conversation with an FBI negotiator and his parents.

Authorities had put out an alert for Helder after his father, Cameron, called police late Monday about a letter from his son that contained reference to the bombings, authorities said.

When authorities pulled him over, Helder dropped a gun out his car window and was arrested without incident. At least one other gun was found in the car, and bomb squads were called to the scene to dismantle the pipe bombs found in the car, said Highway Patrol Maj. Rick Bradley.

Four letter carriers and two residents were injured Friday by bombs left in mailboxes in Illinois and Iowa. Six of the eight bombs planted in those states exploded. The 10 other bombs found later Nebraska, Colorado and Texas did not explode.

Early Wednesday, a handcuffed Helder was led into the Washoe County Jail by four federal agents. Wearing a black Kurt Cobain T-shirt and long, baggy tan shorts, his hair mussed, Helder was quiet, answering "No" when asked by a reporter if he had anything to say.

The capture came eight hours after the FBI issued an all-points bulletin for Helder and said it wanted to question him.

According to a federal complaint filed Wednesday in Iowa, the letter received by Helder's father Monday contained references to death and dying, anti-government comments and the phrase "Mailboxes are exploding." That phrase was in the notes found with the bombs.

Helder's father also told authorities his son's roommate called and told him about possible bomb-making materials found under his bed.

Authorities had asked residents in several states to leave their roadside mailboxes open to give nervous letter carriers a clear look inside. That request was lifted Wednesday morning, authorities said, because they believe Helder acted alone.

"We have no indication of any more bombs out there, and we haven't found any," FBI Agent Pete Sakaris in Omaha said Wednesday Still, he urged the public to be cautious.

Federal prosecutors in Iowa charged Helder with using an explosive to maliciously destroy property affecting interstate commerce and with using a destructive device to commit a crime of violence. The charges carry penalties of up to life in prison and fines of $250,000. In addition, he was booked on a federal firearms charge.

U.S. Attorney Charles W. Larson said Helder was responsible for cuts and shrapnel wounds suffered Friday by Delores Werling, 70, of Tipton, Iowa.

Federal charges were filed Wednesday in Illinois -- the same two charges as in Iowa; and in Nebraska -- where he was charged with interstate transportation of explosives. He was expected to be taken to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to face those charges first, authorities said.

Helder left the Washoe County Jail on Wednesday morning for a trip to the federal court building in downtown Reno, smiling at the cameras as he walked by. An attorney was named to represent him in an afternoon appearance before U.S. Magistrate Robert A. McQuaid Jr.

As the search for Helder intensified, his father was at the family's home about 60 miles southeast of Minneapolis and read a statement urging his son to call.

"I really want you to know that Luke is not a dangerous person," Cameron Helder said. "I think he's just trying to make a statement about the way our government is run. I think Luke wants people to listen to his ideas, and not enough people are hearing him, and he thinks this may help."

Helder was a junior majoring in art and industrial design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, in Menomonie. Menomonie Police Chief Dennis Beety said the only law enforcement record he was aware of involving Helder was a city citation for possession of marijuana in October.

Former classmates said Helder loved the grunge band Nirvana and was preoccupied with Cobain, its lead singer, who committed suicide. Helder was placed under a suicide watch at the Nevada jail.

Helder had not apparently attended classes since at least April 24, a school official said. He played guitar and sang in a punk-rock band called Apathy.

FBI agents searched Helder's apartment in a two-story building near campus, and some nearby homes were evacuated for several hours as a precaution.

After Helder's license plate and car description were broadcast nationwide Tuesday, a motorist on Interstate 80 spotted his vehicle and tipped off authorities. He was pulled over after a 40-mile chase that reached 100 mph.

"The FBI contacted him on his cell phone and started negotiations with him and asked us to back off," said Bradley. "Then he slowed down."

Authorities said Helder phoned his parents during the chase and was patched through to an FBI negotiator, then pulled over east of Fernley and volunteered to surrender if he was not harmed.

"He requested not to be tackled," Trooper Alan Davidson said. "He surrendered the gun and was taken into custody without incident."

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