Prosecutors: Revenge pushed Ark. doctor to bombing

By JILL ZEMAN BLEED Associated Press Writer

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Prosecutors say a doctor accused of masterminding a bombing that disfigured the chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board was a weapons fanatic bent on revenge.

That image will be challenged Friday as attorneys for Dr. Randeep Mann begin their defense before a Little Rock jury. They'll likely note that no forensic evidence or witnesses link Mann to the bomb that exploded at the West Memphis home of Dr. Trent Pierce in February 2009.

But prosecutors say Mann was out for revenge after the medical board barred him from prescribing addictive narcotics. A friend testified that Mann said he wanted to kill members of the board.

Mann is charged with the bombing and possessing unregistered weapons. He's pleaded not guilty.