By Darrell Smith
dvsmith@sacbee.com
UC Davis chemistry researcher David Snyder will remain in Yolo County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail on explosives-related charges, a Yolo Superior Court judge ruled at a bail hearing Friday.
Snyder was injured in the blast early Jan. 17 that wrecked his Davis apartment, forced the evacuation of more than 70 of his neighbors and sent him into Yolo County custody.
At the Friday hearing, his attorney, Linda Parisi, called for the Davis man's bail to be reduced to $500,000. Parisi characterized Snyder, 32, as an inquisitive tinkerer, with a clean record and no grudges against the university.
But prosecutors insisted Snyder remained a danger to the community, listing the types of materials authorities found in Snyder's home following the blast - including a vial of nitroglycerine, black powder and a material prosecutors described as a "research and development explosive" -- and that he had been warned not to make explosives in his university's labs.
"He already knew it was against the law," said Martha Holzapfel, Yolo County deputy district attorney. Ultimately, she said, Snyder "did something so dangerous, even he couldn't control it. This is what he likes to do and he's not going to stop just because you told him 'no.'"
Snyder is scheduled to return March 14 to Yolo Superior Court for a prehearing conference.
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