Suspect jailed on charges related to explosion

A Jackson man was in custody on $75,000 bond Tuesday in connection with a Sunday morning explosion on North Spanish Street in Cape Girardeau.

David Salzmann, 44, was taken into the Cape Girardeau County Jail at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to sheriff's department records.

He faces charges of second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, unlawful possession of a weapon and violation of an order of protection.

Salzmann is accused of trying to kill himself with a homemade explosive device in front of the Cape Girardeau home where his wife was staying, said Sgt. J.T. Selzer of the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

Details about the device were not available Tuesday. Selzer referred questions to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

ATF and FBI agents and the Southeast Missouri Regional Bomb Squad assisted Cape Girardeau police with the investigation Sunday morning. Representatives from those agencies did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

Selzer said someone at the house where Salzmann's wife was staying called police at 7:27 a.m. Sunday to report he was outside.

An officer found Salzmann sitting in a white Cadillac in front of the house in the 1200 block of North Spanish Street, Selzer said.

"When the officer got out of his car, there was some type of minor explosion inside the car," Selzer said at the scene Sunday. "The husband attempted to commit suicide via some type of an explosive device. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries."

Police evacuated residents from the block around the car and searched the neighborhood for other explosives, Selzer said.

Online court records show Salzmann was in custody on $75,000 cash-only bond.

Salzmann was placed on supervised probation in 2010 for possession of chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, and he pleaded guilty in November 2011 to a misdemeanor assault charge, court records show.

He also has been served with orders of protection involving allegations of abuse against his stepchildren, his mother and another adult whose name was not listed in online court records.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

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