Alleged accomplice of fertility clinic bomber dies in federal custody
June 24 (UPI) -- Daniel Jongyon Park, the Washington state man charged with providing explosive materials to a suicide bomber who attacked a California fertility clinic last month, died Tuesday while in federal custody.
Park, 32, was found unresponsive inside his cell around 7:30 a.m. PDT, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, where jail staff immediately began life-saving measures, the Bureau of Prisons announced in a statement. He was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Marshals Service are investigating Park's death. No details have been released and a cause of death has not been determined.
Park, of Kent, Wash., was the alleged accomplice of Palm Springs bomber Guy Edward Bartkus, who detonated a vehicle bomb outside the American Reproductive Centers on May 17. Several people were injured and Bartkus was killed.
After the attack, Park traveled to Poland before being deported back to the United States. He was arrested on June 4 after arriving on a flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and was moved to the Los Angeles detention center on June 13.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked the Polish government for returning Park to the United States to face charges.
"Bringing chaos and violence to a facility that exists to help women and mothers is a particularly cruel, disgusting crime that strikes at the very heart of our shared humanity," she said.
Park was indicted for alleged malicious destruction of property and charged with supplying Bartkus with 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound used in explosives.
Bartkus was allegedly motivated by anti-natalist views that people should not be born without their consent. According to the Justice Department, Park shared the same beliefs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
a day ago
- UPI
New Orleans mayor indicted for fraud over police relationship
New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell is facing federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges after being indicted this week along with a former member of her security detail for an alleged relationship. File Photo by Shawn Fink/EPA-EFE Aug. 16 (UPI) -- New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell is facing federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges after being indicted this week along with a former member of her security detail. Cantrell and retired New Orleans Police Department officer Jeffrey Vappie were both indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other charges after Vappie was allegedly paid for official duty while the two were engaged in "personal activities," according to a statement issued by the Justice Department. Authorities contend the two began a relationship in 2021, during which time Vappie was paid as an on-duty member of Cantrell's personal security team. Vappie retired in 2004. "They embarked on a scheme to defraud the City of New Orleans and NOPD by exploiting Vappie's job and Cantrell's authority as Mayor to have the City and NOPD pay Vappie's salary and expenses during times Vappie claimed to be on duty but when the was actually engaged in personal activities, often with Cantrell," the Justice Department indictment reads. The allegations contend Vappie and Cantrell's activities extended to out-of-state trips. Cantrell allegedly shifted policy and started bringing members of her Executive Protection Unit on the out-of-state trips around five months after Vappie joined the EPU. "Cantrell said she would 'make it happen' to have Vappie accompany her on a three-day trip to Washington, D.C., a trip that they both agreed that they 'needed,'" the Justice Department statement reads. The City of New Orleans was billed over $70,000 on Vappie's behalf for the three-day trip. The couple also allegedly used a city-owned apartment during their relationship. Cantrell was elected in 2018 after serving as a Member of the New Orleans City Council, making her the first female mayor in the city's history. Cantrell has not commented publicly on the allegations. Police say the pair tried to hide the affair and have recovered thousands of texts and pictures from the What'sApp messaging platform. Both are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Vappie also faces twelve counts of wire fraud. Cantrell is also named in six of the latter charges. Additionally, Vappie is charged with making a false statement to the FBI, while Cantrell faces two counts of making a false declaration before a grand jury.
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Fatal shooting at Sacramento's William Land Park sparks calls for tighter security measures
Neighbors are calling for a park policy change following a fatal shooting at Sacramento's William Land Park. The shooting happened at night when the park is supposed to be closed, but neighbors say that's not always enforced. The male victim was found shot and killed inside a car on 13th Avenue inside William Land Park early Thursday morning. "It's shocking. It's not what we want to experience in any of our parks in Sacramento," said Kristina Rogers, president of the Land Park Community Association. Rogers said that the park has many family-friendly attractions, including the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town. "It happened in a very quiet neighborhood part of the park, right next to a children's playground," she said. "That's really hard for us to accept." Rogers' neighborhood organization has been asking the city to change its park security policy for years. The park closes to the public at sunset, but she said the metal gates that prevent cars from driving through are not closed and the public bathroom near the shooting scene is not locked after hours. "When you have open gates and open bathrooms at night when the park is closed, that seems to be the time when a lot of the criminal behavior starts to show up," she said. Jeff Strenk lives across from the crime scene and wants the nighttime park closure to be enforced. "If there were to be locked at night, I think that would go a long way towards improving security," Strenk said. Now, following this violent crime, it appears there is a change coming. A representative in City Councilmember Rick Jenning's office said that the park bathrooms will now be locked at sundown. We broke the news to Strenk. "That's awesome," he said. "I think that's a great idea, a great decision and probably long overdue." Sacramento police say no arrests have been made in connection with this shooting, and the name of the victim has not yet been released.
UPI
2 days ago
- UPI
Argentina raises death toll from tainted fentanyl to more than 100
The government of Argentine President Javier Milei blamed blamed a local laboratory, HLB Pharma Group S.A., for the deaths of more than 100 people from contaminated fentanyl. Photo by Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA Aug. 15 (UPI) -- More than 100 people are believed to have died from a batch of medical fentanyl that may have been contaminated, Argentina's government said in a statement from the presidential press office. The government blamed a local laboratory, HLB Pharma Group S.A., for the incident. The tragedy, described as one of the most serious in the country's public health history, began with the distribution of vials contaminated with multidrug-resistant bacteria -- including Klebsiella pneumoniae and Ralstonia pickettii -- used in public and private hospitals across several regions since early 2025. Although the first cases were detected in May, the death toll has continued to rise in recent days, reaching 96 confirmed deaths with at least nine more under investigation. From the presidential palace, President Javier Milei's government said the company responsible, led by businessman Ariel García Furfaro, engaged in "criminal conduct" by allowing the defective product to be distributed. The presidential press office said more than 300,000 vials of the drug were produced, about 45,000 of which were administered before recall protocols were activated. Unlike other critical medications, clinical-use fentanyl was not fully integrated into the national electronic tracking system, making it harder to detect the problem early and identify the health centers that received the contaminated vials. In a public appearance, Milei turned the health emergency into a political issue by accusing the Kirchnerist movement of having "covered up" for the laboratory's owners for years. Kirchnerism is a left-wing populist movement that blends Peronist nationalism with progressive social policies, economic interventionism and an emphasis on human rights "This is a longtime partner of the previous regime. We will not allow impunity," Milei said. He also warned that his government will seek the recusal of the federal judge handling the case if the businessman is not immediately taken into custody. The National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology said it had revoked the laboratory's authorization in February, but acknowledged there were failures in subsequent distribution controls. So far, 24 people linked to the production and distribution of fentanyl have been identified as suspects in the court case. All are barred from leaving the country and have had their assets seized, though no formal charges have been filed. At the same time, the victims' families are demanding justice. Patient organizations and health professionals have called for urgent reforms to the drug tracking system and a full audit of the health system's operations to prevent similar incidents in the future. In a press release, HLB Pharma Group said it is "at the disposal of the courts" and accused political and economic sectors of "opportunism" in carrying out a "media smear campaign" against the company. The company also said that "contamination such as that reported by some media -- involving one or more multidrug-resistant bacteria typically found in a hospital setting in the same batch -- is simply not possible in a laboratory setting."
