Barbara Lawlor

Nederland

The trial of the man who has been arrested on suspicion of putting a backpack with an explosive device in it in front of the Nederland Police Station last fall has been delayed until July.

At the request of his defense attorneys, David Ansberry, 64, is set for a four-day trial, beginning on July 24, 2017 in the US District Court in Denver. This is the third time a trial date has been set since Ansberry was arrested in Chicago the weekend after the bomb was found on Oct. 11, 2016.

On that day, an NPD officer discovered that a backpack left at the front door of the police station contained an explosive device. The shopping center was immediately evacuated and protocol for a bomb threat was put in place.

As the lodge across from the shopping center was being evacuated, officials noticed a man walking past the entrance to the shopping center before leaving in a vehicle he had sent for. The man was identified as the same person who purchased the cell phone meant to detonate the bomb in the backpack.

The cell phone number had been called several times in an attempt to remotely detonate the bomb, but the device failed to explode. It was detonated later, in the early morning hours of the next day, in the shopping center parking, by a bomb squad.

Ansberry is being held without bond. The defense attorneys asked to cancel the April trial date because they wanted to review new information and consult with DNA and explosive experts.

1. S. District Judge Christine Arguello granted the motion. Ansberry faces a charge of one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and faces life in prison if convicted.