Fremont Bomber Denied Parole Again, Re-Eligible In 3 Years

FREMONT, CA — A former Chicago police employee convicted of planting pipe bombs across Fremont more than two decades ago lost his most recent bid for parole last week, records show.

Rodney Blach, 80, who resides in San Quentin State Prison, faced the parole board on Thursday, asking for the opportunity to go home to his wife, according to court records and a report from the East Bay Times. Blach was first eligible for parole in 2023, but the board denied it.

"I want to get out of here. I want to go to a halfway house," Blach said, according to the East Bay Times. "I’ll probably do a lot of writing. I want a garden. I want my big ol’ garden again, a quarter-acre. I want a farmers market."

Despite 25 years behind bars and growing health issues, the board denied his request, citing that Blach still posed a risk to public safety, according to the East Bay Times.

The board's decision will be under review for 120 days. It'll then be finalized, and Blach will be eligible for parole in another three years.

Blach, a former Chicago Police forensic investigator with a specialty in trace evidence, was convicted in 2001 to 37 years in prison after being found guilty of 11 felonies, including attempted murder, after authorities said he built six pipe bombs and planted them across Fremont.

Some of the bombs were meant to target government officials, according to authorities.

Four of the pipe bombs detonated, and two were found and disarmed beforehand, according to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. No one was hurt in the bombings,

In 1999, investigators found a storage locker linked to Blach containing evidence, including gunpowder and books on how to make bombs, authorities said.

That evidence gave prosecutors enough to convict Blach. Blach, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence, including at his most recent parole hearing.