After two days of deliberation, a federal jury found Arkansas doctor Randeep Mann guilty of planning a bomb attack that nearly killed the state medical board's chairman, Associated Press reports. Mann could face up to life in prison for the 2009 attack that left Dr. Trent Pierce disfigured with bits of black tire embedded in his face and partially blind. The bombing involved a hand grenade duct taped to a spare tire that was placed next to Pierce's car.
Mann was convicted on seven counts, including using a weapon of mass destruction against a person and property, and using an explosive resulting in personal injury, CNN reports.
Pierce led the panel that sanctioned Mann following complaints that he was overprescribing painkillers and other addictive drugs, according to the AP article. After receiving complaints that 10 of his patients overdosed and died, the state medical board revoked Mann's right to prescribe narcotics.
When the bombing occurred, Mann was under investigation, because the board suspected he was still prescribing controlled substances, although his Drug Enforcement Agency permit had been revoked, according to AP.
Prosecutors acknowledged they had no forensic evidence connecting Mann to the bomb scene or proving he planted the explosive. But evidence linked Mann to the bombing, including an email Mann sent his brother in India with the subject line "Pierce" and a photo of the doctor, prosecutors said. Mann repeatedly told a friend that members of the Arkansas State Medical Board needed to suffer like he had.
Defense attorney Blake Hendrix plans to appeal the verdict.
To learn more:
- read the Associated Press article
- see the CNN article