Bomb suspect kills self; warned of 'horrible price in blood'
By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 1, 2009 at 7:58 a.m.
James Chester Blanning
Photo by Janet Urquhart/The Aspen Times
Aspen Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn offers additional details on the bomb threats that forced the evacuation of much of downtown Aspen Wednesday, during a press conference Thursday morning. The sole suspect in the threats, Jim Blanning, was later found dead; he apparently killed himself, Linn said.
Photo by Aspen Times
Surveillance video taken by a Vectra Bank camera in Aspen captured the suspect, Jim Blanning, at 2:37 p.m. Wednesday.
Personal to the Aspen Times editor
For the first 2 years I was in prison I woke up every (sic) wishing I was dead. Now it comes to pass. I was and am a good man. Too many people and I do hate Rove/Bush with a passion. Last Will & Testament - 2 crime scenes 1590 Wolff St Apt. 307 & 1615 Calif. St. #601 Denver. Also Storage Unit.
I bequeath all three to Bob Bradis & Mike Ireland. May Bob help to understand it all. May Mike Ireland rot in hell.
The story is in the scene. Enclosed is a copy of bomb letter Wells Fargo and Vectra. There are 2 more bombs in the parking lot across alley behind the Elks Club. By the dumpster.
After delivering a series of crude gasoline bombs to two Aspen banks and bringing life in the ski town to a virtual halt, after promising a "horrible price in blood," Jim Blanning drove out of town, parked his green Jeep, and shot himself to death.
Law officers found his body early Thursday morning east of town — the final act in a strange sequence of events that led to the evacuation of central Aspen on New Year's Eve and a one-day delay of celebrations for many of those gathered in Colorado's top party town.
Along the way, Blanning stopped at the Aspen Times to deliver a hand-written note that railed against President Bush and a former top adviser, Karl Rove, and promised that the answers could be found in his west Denver apartment and the office just off the 16th Street Mall where he had a business called Great Wonder LLC.Life returned to normal Thursday and a fireworks show canceled in the emergency was rescheduled but many questions remain.
What motivated Blanning, 72, a longtime Aspen resident known for his quarrels with public officials? Why had a man who had spent time in prison after a series of land deals based on old mining claims chosen New Year's Eve to carry out his plan?
"It was pretty shocking, because he pretty much shut the town down," said Mary Eshbaugh Hayes, an Aspen Times society columnist who has known Blanning since his mother brought him and his brother to town in the 1940s.
Blanning, who was on parole for a 1996 conviction on charges of racketeering, organized crime, fraud and larceny, lived in a small apartment a block off Colfax near Sloan's Lake.
In recent weeks, his emotions had swung wildly, said Ruth Halazon, a close friend. Just before Christmas, she said, he was terribly depressed.
But they shared a meal on the holiday, and he seemed better.
"Whatever was going on was well hidden," she said.
Earlier this week, he told her he was going to see another friend, but Halazon's not sure whether he actually planned to do that or whether that was just a story he told so that she wouldn't know he was heading to Aspen, where he has lived off and on since he was a boy.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Blanning walked into the Wells Fargo bank and set down a package wrapped in Christmas paper and a note.
The package was a gasoline bomb, with what appeared to be cell-phone trigger and an anti-tampering device made out of a mousetrap.
The note promised "mass death like we have all been part of over in that f------ quicksand trap" of Iraq." It demanded $60,000 in used $100 bills and included elaborate instructions for dropping off the money.
Twelve minutes later, a similar package was left at a Vectra Bank, and authorities evacuated a 16-block area of downtown Aspen, called off the midnight fireworks show and began hunting for the perpetrator.
The notes claimed that another bomb had been "hidden in a high-end watering hole that we will remove after we are fully clear and know for sure all has gone well."
A bank security camera captured a shot of the man who left the packages. Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, who had known Blanning for years, recognized him.
In the meantime, investigators found two more bombs in a black sled in a parking lot and concluded that Blanning originally intended to take them to two more banks but abandoned his plan halfway through.
Between 7:02 and 7:45 p.m., Blanning left an envelope at the Aspen Times office. It contained the same typewritten note that had been left at the bank, plus a hand-written letter, which talked about the first two years Blanning was in prison and how he woke up every day "wishing I was dead."
"Now it comes to pass," the note said. "I was and am a good man."
He went on to promise that there were crime scenes at his apartment in West Denver and at his downtown office, and he left it to Braudis to "help understand it all."
"The story is in the scene," he wrote.
Then he drove east, out of town, toward Independence Pass. He parked and shot himself in the head with a pistol.
Law officers searching the area found him at 2:19 a.m.
Denver police and federal agents searched both his apartment and his Denver office, but it was not clear Thursday what — if anything — they found.
At a press conference Thursday morning, Aspen's Assistant Police Chief, Bill Linn, said each of the bombs contained roughly five gallons of gasoline. And while it was not certain that they would have worked as designed, he made it clear that the danger was real.
"There were four actual bombs in downtown Aspen," he said. "How do you quantify how dangerous that is? Dangerous enough."
Thursday afternoon, Halazon talked emotionally about her friend as she tried to understand what had happened.
"He was just not a bad person," she said. "I don't know how to say this, but I think in all of us there's some sort of anger. And we have to deal with it and get it out of the way.
"I don't know how much he held in."
The Associated Press and the Aspen Times contributed to this story.
How events unfolded
WEDNESDAY
2:23 p.m. Wells Fargo bank calls authorities to report receiving a suspicious package and a note.
2:36 p.m. Vectra bank also reports receiving a suspicious package and a note.
Before 3 p.m. Both banks and surrounding 16-block area of Aspen are evacuated and access is blocked.
3:44 p.m. Police find black sled in an alley with two similar packages containing gasoline-filled bombs.
7:45 p.m. Employee of Aspen Times finds envelope left at the newspaper office's front door. Envelope contains typed letter warning of the bombs. On the outside of the envelope, suspect has written his "last will and testament."
8:10 p.m. Police learn suspect may be nearby.
8:17 p.m. Law enforcement officials identify the suspect as James Chester Blanning.
8:20 p.m. Bomb technicians begin disabling the first bomb.
9:53 p.m. Experts confirm the bombs are an actual threat.
THURSDAY
1:26 a.m. Suspect is spotted driving green Jeep Cherokee with a spare tire on the roof.
2:19 a.m. Police find Blanning dead, alone in his Jeep, parked along a road in rural Pitkin County.
4:45 a.m. Police find a rifle and handgun they believe Blanning used to kill himself.
4-5 a.m. Authorities lift downtown evacuations and deem the area safe for the public.
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January 1, 2009
8:08 a.m.
Suggest removal
FrozenTootsies writes:
Grab your beers, Rocky commenters, and hunker down for a fun day at the keyboard.
Cranky old guy leaves possible bombs all over town and ruins New Year's Eve in Aspen for a bunch of rich white people, then is found dead, leaving notes which bash Bush, "Chaney," and Rove.
Ooh, this is a New Year's gift indeed for all the neocons, dittoheads, Palinites, and other losers.
You all have fun, now. FrozenTootsies has work to do today, and looks forward to reading all the craziness that you will spew over this story today.
Ready, set, go!
January 1, 2009
8:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
INC writes:
LOL FrozenTootsies!!!
My question is obviously this guy(s) is a domestic terrorist... so why did he not get caught by "homeland sec."?
That's right In the trailers of the new TV show they show us Drug busts!
No neo-cons this is not a thwarted attack. as it worked.
January 1, 2009
9:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
acm writes:
INC: There has never been a terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11!!!!!
God bless bushy.
January 1, 2009
9:56 a.m.
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GILPINMAN writes:
acm... what do you mean no terrorist atacks?
we had one at ELDORA just the other day.
January 1, 2009
10:22 a.m.
Suggest removal
INC writes:
acm,
conveniently forgotten... G. Dubya Bushy, Ignored 9-11 warnings...
~invaded the wrong country, on a lie.
~plundered the federal treasury
~ignored infrastructure
~weakened U.S. integrity around the world
~Violates the U.S. Constitution
~Ignores International Law (that we set up BTW)
Obama_Is_A_Nazi,
boy are you confused... Nazism = Fascism = Reaganomics
Just what we have had for the last 8 Years.
January 1, 2009
10:31 a.m.
Suggest removal
HopiMedicineMan writes:
I see I've wondered onto the playground again.
A smart robber would use his suicide vest to rob individuals on Aspen's streets, not banks. "Your wallet or my life." You're likely to run across a drug dealer. In Aspen, the money's in the pockets.
January 1, 2009
10:33 a.m.
Suggest removal
ThingFish writes:
Obama_Is_A_Nazi,
I'm confused. Is that a poor attempt at sarcasm or are you really that dumb?
January 1, 2009
11:23 a.m.
Suggest removal
HolierThanThou writes:
When one old fart with a bee in his bonnet and no knowledge of chemistry can bring the richest city in Colorado to its knees, we know that the terrorists have won.
January 1, 2009
11:46 a.m.
Suggest removal
me2 writes:
Terrorist? Is every mentally ill person with something inflamable now a terrorist? Let's not stretch that word so far it loses all meaning.
January 1, 2009
12:03 p.m.
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pegster6 writes:
It's pretty well confirmed by now that the BDS crowd is mentally ill. This guy definitely was. I'm glad he off'd only himself.
January 1, 2009
12:17 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
Asspen has GRAFFITI? Or is that some new Asspen art form?
January 1, 2009
12:37 p.m.
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Achilles writes:
"WE HAVE ALL OF THE COP THREATS TO US UNDER VERY SOPHISTICATED ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE. DO NOT F--- WITH US OR THERE WILL BE MASS DEATH LIKE WE HAVE ALL BEEN PART OF OVER IN THAT F---ING QUICKSAND TRAP THAT ROVE'S AND CHANEY'S MONKEY BUS PUT US INTO WHERE SO MANY OF OUR SOUL MATES AND BROTHERS DIED VERY HORRIBLE DEATHS." - Blanning (a.k.a An Average RMN Poster)
That is priceless. Sounds like half the people who post on this forum. Looks like we'll have one less liberal posting here now. Who could it be? jay? grandpa? sheikyurbooty? Old Grouch?
January 1, 2009
12:56 p.m.
Suggest removal
Michael writes:
Could be the worst case of BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) ever recorded and maybe the first fatality connected to it as well. This needs to be investigated for the medical research benefits into BDS and how it might be treated in the future to avoid more casualties and/or suicides - that is if we want to avoid those!!
Bush Lied! Blanning Died!! Maybe it is Old_Grouch??? Crusty SOB.
January 1, 2009
1:25 p.m.
Suggest removal
repmaj04 writes:
BDS is a serious illness, as this poor guy proves. It has infected the bulk of the democrat party in the last 8 years. Just read the posts on the "democrat underground" or "Huffington Post" or even the comments here. I've always measured the success of a Republican President, by how much he is reviled by the democrat party. W must be headed for greatness in the annals of history. He has single handedly driven the press to admit their blatant bias, and has driven the democrat party to side with Americas enemies in order to preserve their power.
January 1, 2009
1:31 p.m.
Suggest removal
major47 writes:
Why do we blame so much.Cause we dont want to change.This man was really screwed up on the inside.So blame Bush or who ever you think runs your life.lol.I am grateful his life was the only one takin.Its to bad he couldnt get some help.This is what happens when we dont get help.Wake up people?
January 1, 2009
1:32 p.m.
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Now_You_Know writes:
He forgot to add rush Lameball and DS hanitty on flax news!!
January 1, 2009
1:36 p.m.
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taxidave writes:
This poor guy bought into all the propaganda the crazy hazy lefties repeated over and over.Like most lefties, he lost the abililty to think for himself.He relied upon the constant stream of lies fed by fellow BDS zombies. I'm sure he voted for THE biggest BSer of all time. Americans have become so naive.
January 1, 2009
1:48 p.m.
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Now_You_Know writes:
taxidave
Stay off of AM radio!
January 1, 2009
2:52 p.m.
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GetReal writes:
Sounds like just your garden variety BDS suffering Progressive moonbat and Obama voter exercising their free speech rights.
What, he couldn't wait 20 days for his hero to be inaugurated and then all the worlds wrongs will instantly be righted?
January 1, 2009
2:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
Now_You_Know writes:
GetReal
What, he couldn't wait 20 days for his hero to be inaugurated and then all the worlds wrongs will instantly be righted?
Not the the worlds wrongs, he will fix your boy Bushes wrongs!
January 1, 2009
3:20 p.m.
Suggest removal
The_Punnisher writes:
Two WRONGS don't make it RIGHT.....( El Arbusto was never RIGHT either )...
But two WRIGHTS can make an AIRPLANE...>8->...
Think about it...
Happy New Year!
January 1, 2009
3:20 p.m.
Suggest removal
squeakywheel writes:
You kids crack me up.
January 1, 2009
5:01 p.m.
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fifty writes:
Another crazy Coloradan makes national news. It's not as bad as when we had alleged rapes/rapes to the north (C.U.), west (Kobe) and south (Air Force Academy), but it's up there.
January 1, 2009
10:29 p.m.
Suggest removal
ORBroncoFan53 writes:
Sounds like being an anti American limp wristed Liberal hippy was just to much for this guy.Oh well thank GOD he didn't take out any taxpayers(REPUBLICANS) on his way to the GREAT WOODSTOCK IN THE SKY.
January 2, 2009
9:05 a.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Didn't realize I was going to learn something new today and from the tinhats no less. All this time, I thought BDS meant Bush Ducking Shoes.
January 2, 2009
9:40 a.m.
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INC writes:
is it not revealing as to the mentality of AM radio listeners?
somehow only republicans pay taxes... (ORBroncoFan53-10:29p)
At least us Liberals see the Forrest instead of just the trees to cut down. (big picture)
January 2, 2009
10:10 a.m.
Suggest removal
rdfland writes:
Houstongolfnut what Cheney did was just be crooked and drop contracts to Haliburton in Iraq. A total lack of moral fiber. Iraq had too many kickbacks to even name them all. We should have stayed in Afganastan and finished it up so we wouldn't still be messing with it today.
January 2, 2009
11:34 a.m.
Suggest removal
mytwosense writes:
John II: "That is priceless. Sounds like half the people who post on this forum. Looks like we'll have one less liberal posting here now. Who could it be? jay? grandpa? sheikyurbooty? Old Grouch?"
Please, as many times as I've seen you post that Obama is going to be assassinated because he's a "socialist," I'm surprised the Secret Service hasn't hauled you away yet. Not to mention your weird fixation with Paul Campos. I was actually concerned for the guy when you started blithering about putting him on trial for treason.
January 4, 2009
8:49 a.m.
Suggest removal
repmaj04 writes:
"Houstongolfnut what Cheney did was just be crooked and drop contracts to Haliburton in Iraq. We should have stayed in Afganastan and finished it up so we wouldn't still be messing with it today."
The MSM has really done their job well. You left nuts have really got those talking points down. Had Al Gore sucessfully stolen the 2000 election, he not only would have invaded Iraq, it would have been a noble cause in all the headlines, and this WMD fixation would have never even been mentioned in the press. But alas, one of the symptoms of BDS causes you to lose all respect for Americas reputation and success as long as there is a Republican President to destroy. This nutbag in Colorado is a bi-product of a serious mental disease.