Mail Bombing: Oakland Man Arrested

OAKLAND, CA — An Oakland man has been charged with mailing an explosive device that injured another man in a bombing incident East Palo Alto in October, United States Attorney Brian Stretch announced Thursday.

Ross Gordon Laverty, 56, mailed a package containing an improvised explosive, and on Oct. 11, the package was delivered to an address in East Palo Alto, prosecutors said.

The victim was suspicious of the package but opened it in his back yard on Oct. 19, and the package detonated, prosecutors said.

The victim was injured when the device detonated, prosecutors said.

Laverty is being charged with one count of mailing an explosive device with the intent to injure or kill. He was arraigned Thursday in San Francisco.

Laverty faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 if he is convicted of the charge.

— Bay City News; Image by Renee Schiavone, Patch