SPOKANE — One of four men who participated in a spree of terrorist bombings and robberies in the Spokane area in 1996 has been re-sentenced to 58 years for those crimes.
The men were convicted of bombing a Planned Parenthood clinic and the suburban offices of The Spokesman-Review newspaper, and two related bank robberies.
U.S. District Court Judge Frem Nielsen on Wednesday handed down a prison sentence that will keep Verne J. Merrell, 75, in prison at least 34 years.
He’s the third of four bombers who adhered to the beliefs of the white supremacist group the Phineas Priesthood.
Robert S. Berry, 66, and Brian Ratigan, 61, both distanced themselves from the racist ideology at their earlier hearings. Ratigan was released from custody in June, and Berry received a similar sentence to Merrell’s on Tuesday.
No one was injured in the bombings, both of which coincided with armed bank robberies at a nearby U.S. Bank branch.
Charles Barbee, the final defendant in the case, is scheduled to appear before Nielsen on Sept. 22.
All four men were from the nearby Sandpoint, Idaho, area.
The hearings were prompted by a review of the case in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision finding that the federal law the men were convicted under wasn’t clear enough for sentencing enhancements that would keep them behind bars for life.
