Earl Albert Moore Pleads Guilty to Using a Destructive Device During a Crime of Violence

DENVER—Earl Albert Moore, age 65, pled guilty today to use of a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence for leaving a destructive device at the Southwest Plaza Mall on April 20, 2011. The guilty plea was tendered before U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane. Moore was originally charged by criminal complaint on April 24, 2011. He was then indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on May 5, 2011. Judge Kane is scheduled to sentence Moore on March 16, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Moore faces a mandatory minimum 30-year prison sentence.

According to court records, on April 20, 2011, a subject entered Southwest Plaza Mall, using an employee-only entrance. He then allegedly placed a destructive device inside an employee corridor at the mall. He then lit the device. Moore then exited the facility. As he was departing a fire ignited, but the device did not detonate. A security officer used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office immediately initiated an investigation. That investigation resulted in identifying Moore as the person responsible for the assembling and leaving the destructive device. A manhunt ensued. An alert Boulder resident recognized Moore at a local coffee house inside a grocery store. She called the Boulder Police Department, who quickly responded and arrested Moore.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with substantial assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided support. Moore is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Holloway.