Mailbox bomb explodes at DA's home shortly after a grand jury declined to indict her in probe
A bomb in the home mailbox of an Oklahoma district attorney detonated and blew the door off the mailbox; the damage was discovered Tuesday by a mail carrier.
No one was injured, and authorities say Rogers County DA Janice Steidley was not home at the time, according to KFOR and KJRH. A neighbor’s surveillance video is being reviewed to see if it can provide any clues about a possible suspect.
The incident occurred on the same day Steidley learned that a grand jury had declined to indict her on accusations of wrongdoing by local law enforcement officials, and after the decision was announced. She told the Associated Press she believes the mailbox bomb was related to the grand jury decision and was intended to send a message that she is not safe at her home.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who OK’d the grand jury probe of Steidley, said his office isn’t involved in the investigation of the mailbox bombing.
A Tulsa World article provides more details about the grand jury probe and notes that its Tuesday findings were in an interim report. It cleared Steidley and her office on nine allegations and makes partial findings on a tenth allegation on which the probe continues.
The grand jury also noted that relations between the DA’s office and local law enforcement have not been positive. Its report described “an alarming lack of respect, civility and overall professionalism” and “an overarching theme by both sides of systematic institutionalized bullying, and a profound lack of courtesy and professionalism,” according to the AP and the World.
See also:
KTUL (Sept. 2013): “Area Officers Request OSBI Assistance in Investigation of District Attorney”
Pryor Daily Times (Oct. 2013): “Attorney General to investigate Rogers County allegations”
