- Two men face state charges of possessing fake explosives.
- The men were being investigated for allegedly placing an explosive under a news car in Salt Lake City.
- Fake explosives were found at their residence by federal agents, charges say. The federal investigation is ongoing.
SALT LAKE CITY — Two men are facing multiple felony state charges after allegedly placing an explosive under a news car earlier this month.
Adil Justice Ahmed Nasir, 31, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with two counts of possessing a hoax weapon of mass destruction, a first-degree felony. The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office said Monday evening it would be amending his charges to second-degree felonies.
Adeeb Nasir, 58, was charged with two counts of possessing a hoax weapon of mass destruction, a second-degree felony, plus two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.
On Sept. 12, the Salt Lake police bomb squad responded to a suspicious device in Salt Lake City where police say they located the device under a news media vehicle parked next to an occupied building. Police determined it to be a real explosive device that "had been lit but failed to function as designed," according to a police booking affidavit.
The two suspects were located in Magna after the FBI assumed primary jurisdiction of the case. Agents served a federal search warrant on Sept. 13 at the residence of the two men, police said.
Multiple firearms and marijuana were observed in plain view in the home, the charges state. Police also reported locating two sticks of dynamite that the two men indicated were real.
A bomb technician evacuated the area and examined the dynamite. While having the appearance of actual dynamite, both sticks were deemed "inert," the charges say.
Initially, both men were arrested for investigation of manufacturing or possessing a weapon of mass destruction, threat of terrorism, attempted aggravated arson, and possessing or removing incendiary items and their parts, according to their police booking affidavits.
"That (federal) investigation remains ongoing. The charges filed today are the result of alleged state violations identified during that initial investigation," a statement from Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said. "These are state charges for the hoax dynamite and weapons found in the home that were observed in plain sight."
No federal charges have been filed for either man as of Monday.
