| Updated: 7/15/2010 9:36 pm |
Published: 7/15/2010 3:14 pm |
Jurors saw first hand exactly how the state medical board chairman's car was set to explode. An ATF agent told jurors if the same grenade detonated inside a car it would've killed everyone inside.
Cameras are not allowed in the federal courthouse so FOX16 recreated some of it.
Imagine seeing a mysterious spare tire set up against the front bumper of your car as you head to work. Its the last thing Trent Pierce saw with both of his eyes. What he couldn't see, was the military grenade hidden inside.
Much of Thursday's testimony came from ATF weapons specialist Stephen Shelley. He explained to jurors what kind of grenade was used in the attack of state medical board chairman Trent Pierce. It was an MK3A2, which is considered rare. Shelley says they are usually only used by special ops and Navy Seals.
It has a circular ring on top. Once its pulled, the grenade still won't go off as long as someone or something is squeezing the lever on the side. In the case of the West Memphis bombing that something was a spare tire. Once the booby-trapped tire is moved, a few seconds later, the grenade detonates.
For Trent Pierce, who was on his way to a meeting of state medical board in Little Rock, it nearly killed him in his driveway.
The tire worked as a booby trap because it concealed the grenade and was heavy enough to keep it from going off until someone moved it.
We also learned that all the evidence around the blast site was tested for fingerprints and DNA, including the tire and duct tape. None of it came back to Randeep Mann, in fact there wasn't a match for anyone forensically.
