Jurors convicted an East County man of booby-trapping his wife's vehicle with a pipe bomb in an attempt to kill her.
Lawrence Gerald "Larry" Hoagland, 50, faces life in prison for the Sept. 23, 2010 attack on his wife, Connie Hoagland.
On that day, an explosion shook a Rancho San Diego neighborhood. Residents living in two dozen homes along Via Hacienda were forced to evacuate.
Hoagland was arrested five days after the attack. His wife was taken to the UCSD Burn Center where she was rushed into surgery.
During a pretrial hearing, Connie Hoagland testified about her injuries from the explosion.
“My legs hurt, there was smoke filling up. My ears were ringing. It was so loud. And the screaming,” she said.
Connie Hoagland left home early to take her son to school and then drove to her work, a daycare in Rancho San Diego.
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“I remember the morning of that day, when I got in the car to take [my son] to school, I noticed a wire hanging from the dashboard. I just told [him], ‘oh, remind me to tell your dad about that later,” said Hoagland.
When she went to leave work that day, she says her car was already unlocked.
“I opened the door, threw my purse in and got in the truck, closed the door, put my key in the ignition, turned it over… and then kaboom!” she testified.
She was hospitalized for more than a month with broken bones and burns.
At a pretrial hearing, Connie Hoagland also testified that her husband admitted to having an affair with another woman.
During her hospital stay, her daughter came into her room and handed her the phone. Her husband was at the other end.
“Larry said ‘I just want you to know, before it gets out, that I’ve been having an affair. And it was like ‘Ding!', she said.
Jurors convicted Hoagland of attempted premeditated murder, felony explosion of a destructive device with intent to murder and explosion of a destructive device with intent to cause mayhem or great bodily injury and exploding a destructive device.
"With today's conviction, Lawrence Hoagland has been held accountable for his actions," DA Bonnie Dumanis said in a news release. "I hope the verdict will bring a small measure of justice to the victim and her family."
Hoagland will remain in custody without bail until his sentencing hearing on June 5.
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