Moses Lake man sentenced to five years after detonating bomb
SPOKANE – Nicholas Andrew Anardi, 33, of Moses Lake has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison after setting off an explosive device. Chief Judge Stanley A. Bastian of the U.S. District Court Eastern Washington District also imposed three years of supervised release following imprisonment in Anardi’s case.
According to court documents, Anardi’s garage had been burglarized while he was in prison. Anardi believed he knew who the culprit was and decided to build two explosive devices to scare the alleged robbers. Using a model rocket engine for one of the bombs and an aerial mortar round for the other, he wrapped metal wire and pennies which would act as homemade shrapnel around the explosives. The improvised shrapnel was held in place by black electrical tape.
On Sept. 11, 2021, Anardi rode his bike to an apartment where the person he suspected of robbing his garage lived. He then lit one bomb and threw it over the fence toward the apartment, but the bomb did not go off. Anardi then lit the second bomb and rolled it to the door of the apartment. That bomb exploded a few seconds later, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
A nearby resident reported hearing a loud bang and something hitting her door. The resident described the noise as being like someone hitting the door with a sledgehammer. She opened the door and saw the unexploded bomb and called 911.
The Washington State Patrol bomb squad responded to the call and rendered the bomb inert. Several pieces of the exploded bomb were then collected as evidence including one piece that had been thrown about 130 feet from the blast site. Investigators also reported finding a coin and metal wire embedded in the door of a nearby apartment.
“Mr. Anardi built two deadly bombs that included homemade shrapnel and attempted to detonate them in an apartment complex full of people. Thankfully, no one was hurt by Mr. Anaradi’s reckless and dangerous behavior,” stated U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Timothy J. Ohms and Patrick J. Cashman, according to the release.
“The danger posed by explosives such as the ones Mr. Anardi built and used cannot be overstated,” said ATF Seattle Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Blais. “Shrapnel from an explosion knows no difference between an intended target and an unintentional bystander, making this attempted attack that much more dangerous to the community. Because of this, we believe today’s prison sentence is well deserved.”