A federal agent has stated the obvious for the record: Dr. Randeep Mann, the Russellville physician currently jailed pending federal trial for possession of unregistered grenades, is a person of interest in the bombing of the chairman of the state Medical Board, Dr. Trent Pierce of West Memphis.

Uh, yeah. Cops went to see him the day of the bombing, a visit that raised suspicions about his arsenal that led to his federal indictment. Dr. Mann had lost his ability to practice medicine on account of actions taken by the Medical Board. And, as we noted a while back, when the Medical Board suspended Dr. Mann’s license in 2003, Pierce was the only doctor to vote against a stay of the suspension. Pierce said he expected to see Dr. Mann again. Indeed, he did. In 2007, seeking reinstatement, Dr. Mann was told by Dr. Pierce not to bother seeking his license to prescribe drugs “in any forseeable time frame … because you don’t need one, doctor.”

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Motive and knowledge of explosives do not a criminal charge make, however. And other disciplined docs are being reviewed, too. Mann has not been charged in Pierce’s bombing. Pierce reportedly is recuperating from serious injuries. He was injured in an explosion when he went to his car to go to work.

PS: I note the ATF tells the D-G that while Mann is a person of interest he is not a “suspect.” I think that’s a distinction without a legal or dictionary difference, though it might be different to that particular agent. Mann is a person to whom law enforcement suspicions have turned since the day of the bombing (I heard his name from two different law enforcement officials the day of the bombing.) There isn’t a legal distinction of which I’m aware between suspect and person of interest. But let’s be clear on one point of law. Mann is innocent of the crime. Unless proven otherwise. 

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