Pipe bomb suspect to get new hearing on amended charge

A Jackson man accused of detonating a pipe bomb outside a Cape Girardeau residence faces another preliminary hearing after a prosecutor amended the charges against him to give jurors more options.

David Salzmann, 44, last month pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, unlawful possession of a weapon and violation of an order of protection after a June 9 explosion on North Spanish Street.

Salzmann is accused of detonating a homemade pipe bomb inside a Cadillac parked outside a house where his estranged wife was staying in the 1200 block of North Spanish Street.

The explosion appeared to be a suicide attempt, Sgt. J.T. Selzer of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said at the time.

Salzmann waived arraignment in July and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In court Monday, Jack Koester, assistant prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County, told Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis he had filed an amended information in the case because Missouri law outlines seven different ways a person can commit second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, and two of those ways could apply to Salzmann's case.

Koester originally charged Salzmann with second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer under Section 7 of the law, stating that "the defendant with criminal negligence created a substantial risk of serious physical injury to Patrolman Ryan Droege" by detonating an explosive device as Droege approached the car.

The amended information includes an alternative charge of second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer under Section 6 of the law, stating "the defendant recklessly placed ... Droege ... in apprehension of immediate serious physical injury" by detonating the device.

Outside the courtroom, Koester said the difference is subtle but allows the jury to determine which charge is more appropriate based on the facts of the case if it goes to trial.

Salzmann's attorney, public defender Christopher Heeb, objected to the amended information because it contained elements that had not been considered in Salzmann's preliminary hearing, so Lewis remanded the case to Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court Division III for a preliminary hearing on the new charge.

The explosion, which left Salzmann with non-life-threatening injuries, prompted authorities to evacuate the block around the Cadillac while the FBI, Southeast Missouri Regional Bomb Squad and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives helped Cape Girardeau police officers search for other explosives in the vehicle and elsewhere in the neighborhood.

No one else was hurt.

Trista Frederick, a special agent and public information officer for the ATF, has said while pipe bombs can be dangerous, Salzmann's was too poorly constructed to pose a serious threat to anyone but him.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1200 block of North Spanish Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.