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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A Virginia woman accused of plotting to build a pipe bomb with her imprisoned cousin went on trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Beckley.
A jury was selected and prosecutors began opening arguments in the trial of Amy Tucker, 30, of Williamsburg, Va.
Tucker and her cousin, Coleman Johnson, 31, of Newport News, Va., were indicted in September on charges of conspiracy to manufacture a pipe bomb.
Charges were dropped against Johnson on March 11.
The indictment said Johnson, who is serving a life sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Beaver, tried to mail a letter on or about July 25 to Tucker specifying items she should purchase to build a pipe bomb.
The letter instructed Tucker to purchase all materials with cash and to dispose of all receipts and shopping bags. It also warned her not to leave fingerprints at the stores.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew said Coleman identified Tucker on the envelope as an attorney and specified that the letter was confidential legal mail.
Prison officials knew Tucker was not an attorney and opened the letter.
The letter did not specify who or what the alleged bomb plan targeted, Loew said.
The indictment also charged that Tucker and Johnson discussed the bomb plan at an earlier meeting at the prison.
Tucker told federal agents that the plan was aimed at helping Johnson prove his innocence in a previous case, Loew said.
In May 2001, a federal jury in Virginia convicted Johnson of planting a pipe bomb in 1997 outside of Tammy Lynn Baker's apartment in Louisa, Va. Baker, 24, and her 8-month-old fetus were killed when the bomb exploded after she picked it up.
Tucker faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release if convicted of the conspiracy charge.
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