Suspect arrested over pipe bomb left at Colo. mall

BOULDER, Colo. -- A man suspected of leaving a pipe bomb and two propane tanks at a Denver-area shopping mall was arrested Tuesday after being spotted drinking coffee at a supermarket about 30 miles away, authorities said.

Earl Albert Moore, 65, was taken into custody by the FBI and was due to make his first court appearance today.

The explosives were discovered on the 12th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings at a shopping center just two miles from the school. But at a brief news conference Tuesday, Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink repeated investigators' belief that the incident wasn't related to Columbine.

Investigators have said they found a motive, but they have not discussed it publicly.

Authorities had been searching for Moore since the explosives were discovered following a fire April 20 at the Southwest Plaza Mall in the south Denver suburbs. The bomb and tanks were found after a fire in a hallway at the mall's food court, but they didn't detonate. No injuries were reported.

Federal Bureau of Prisons records show that Moore was released from prison April 13. Court records show he pleaded guilty in May 2005 to robbing a bank in Crab Orchard, W.Va., of $2,546. A judge sentenced Moore to 18 years in prison for the bank robbery, but a federal appeals court in 2006 reduced his sentence to seven years. Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Edmond Ross said Moore received a "good conduct" release from prison after serving six years of his sentence.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation records show several arrests for possession of dangerous drugs, theft, and possession of burglary tools dating to 1984. Court records show that an arrest warrant had been issued for Moore in September 2004, six months before the West Virginia bank robbery, for his failure to appear at a court hearing related to a burglary case.

Moore also served a year in Danbury, Conn., federal prison in 1983, according to Ross. In 1985, Moore pleaded guilty to unlawful escape from custody of the attorney general and possession of an unregistered firearm. Details of that case, including where he served his prison sentence, were not immediately available from the Federal Records Center in suburban Denver.

Moore has used at least seven aliases that include variations of the names Earl Albert Buchannan, Donald Charles Morelli and Gary Steele, according to state arrest records. In addition, the FBI said Moore also uses the alias John Lindzy.

Moore lived in Colorado at least part time from the mid-1980s to 2004, according to public records.