----Source: TRG, Vol., 110, number 33, Loyal Wis., Wed., Aug. 13, 2003.

Neillsville Man Charged With Attempted Murder in Pipe Bomb Case

Federal and county investigators link blast debris to suspect's remote car starter unit

NEILLSVILLE - A 32-year-old, Neillsville man was arrested Monday and charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and other crimes for allegedly planting the pipe bomb that exploded in his wife's former husband's car near Neillsville on July 23. Wayne L. Jensen, N6266 N. Halle Ave., Neillsville, was charged Monday in Clark County Circuit Court 'with the attempted first-degree homicide of Thomas Dyer, Greenwood, who was seriously injured when a pipe bomb exploded under his seat 'as he was driving to work at approximately 8 a.m. on July 23.

Jensen was ,also charged with felony first-degree feckless endangerment for injuries caused to Tanya Humboldt, a passenger in Dyer's vehicle, who sustained thigh and hearing injuries when the ,bomb detonated as the car was approximately two miles north of ;Neillsville on Highway 73. Other felony charges filed against Jensen include aggravated battery, Possession of improvised explosives ,and damage to property by use of explosives. Jensen was to appear in Clark county Circuit Court Tuesday at 2 ,p.m. for a bail/bond hearing.

An investigation conducted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and 'the Clark County Sheriffs Department revealed that bomb debris found , at the scene of the explosion matched , parts from a remote car starter unit .that Jensen allegedly removed from a car in the weeks prior to the crime. Also, Dyer told investigators that he had seen Jensen's white pickup truck parked along Highway 73 as he drove to work on July 23.

Jensen is now married to Dyer's former wife, Cyndi.

According to court records, Dyer told authorities that he recognized Jensen's pickup truck on the morning of the bombing as it was parked on Clark County Trunk Highway H, just west of Highway 73, as Dyer headed south. Dyer made a U-turn to go back to pick up Humboldt, and saw Jensen's vehicle rolling forward. After Dyer had picked up Humboldt, he headed south again and again saw Jensen's truck. Dyer said he knew it was Jensen's truck because he sees it often when he and his former wife exchange their children as part of a shared custody agreement.

Jensen is accused of planting the bomb that exploded in Dyer's Geo Metro, as well as a second one that did not detonate. He allegedly detonated the bomb with a remote control device.

A motorist who was on her way to work on July 23 told investigators that she was about five car lengths behind Dyer's car when she saw blue smoke and glass coming from the car. Just before that, she said, a white truck had been following her on Highway 73, but it turned cast onto Clark County Trunk Highway C shortly before the explosion in Dyer's car.

A manufacturer of the car starter unit allegedly used by Jensen to detonate the bomb told investigators that the remote transmitter that activates the device would need to be within 300-1,500 feet of the receiver, depending on terrain, receiver antenna placement and tint of vehicle windows.

The criminal complaint filed against Jensen on Monday states that Dyer told investigators that he had reported Jensen to Social Services 2-3 months prior to the bombing. He also said his former wife was angry with him about bankruptcy proceedings in which they were involved.

The complaint also states that Vincent Dyer, son of Tom Dyer and Cyndi Jensen, had been asked about the time of day that Tom Dyer left for work. Vincent Dyer said the Jensens used "bad names" when talking about Tom Dyer and that Vincent had been shown a "device" the Jensens had in their possession.

The device allegedly used to detonate the bomb is a key piece of the investigation. Statements made to detectives by co-workers of Jensen's at Nelson Muffler in Neillsville indicate that Jensen had asked others to help him rig a remote control device. One co-worker said Jensen asked him about 2-3 weeks before the bombing to "help make a device that would be able to deliver a shock to the defendant's child while he was driving the lawn mower," the complaint states.

Detectives also interviewed a man who sold a Pontiac Grand Am to Jensen approximately three months before the bombing. The car's previous owner said that a remote car starter unit had been installed in the car for his daughter. ATF agents who inspected the Grand Am found that an "aftermarket electrical unit had been removed from the car's dash. Cut wires recovered from the car matched pieces of wire found at the explosion scene.

Also, the previous owner of the Grand Am told investigators the brand name of the car starter unit was "Crime Stopper." A piece of plastic found in the bomb debris carried the same brand name. Debris also carried identification numbers printed on Crime Stopper units.

ATF agents visited an Internet Web site of the manufacturer of the Crime Stopper unit and compared photos taken from the Web site to pieces found at the explosion scene. They also spoke with a representative of the company that builds the units to verify that the components they found at the scene were from a unit like the one known to have been in Jensen's car when he purchased it. Other components of the pipe bomb were also recovered at the scene. Wire used in the bomb's construction was identified as "machine tool wire," which is used in manufacturing applications but is not available for general purchase. Numbers evident on the wire recovered from the unexploded bomb found in Dyer's car at the explosion scene matched numbers found on wire at the Nelson Muffler plant, according to the complaint.

Federal agents prepared a report on the potential lethality of the bombs. In conferring with explosives experts in the ATF, agents determined the bombs "had significant potential to kill or cause great bodily harm."

Dyer required emergency surgery to repair lacerations and bums on his buttocks and legs.

Furthermore, the complaint states, detectives interviewed Mark Hiserman, who said he was aware that Cyndi Jensen was angry with Tom Dyre over their divorce settlement and child custody arrangement. Hiserman told a Clark County detective, "many times actually she asked me to either kill (Dyer) or have him killed," the complaint states.

Hiserman said Cyndi Jensen had talked a "couple times a month" since early 2002 of killing Dyre, and that Wayne Jensen made a comment in November 2002 regarding the ease of building pipe bombs at Nelson Muffler.