Bail in standoff set at $100,000

PROVO — A man involved in a four-hour standoff with police after allegedly threatening to blow himself up will be held on $100,000 cash-only bail, a judge ruled Tuesday.

"The threat to the community is just too great," said 4th District Judge Anthony Schofield.

Saturday morning, the 29-year-old Orem man called a crisis line at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. When he started talking about explosives, police say, the hospital worker transferred the call to police.

"They had to evacuate the neighborhood for five or six hours," Utah County prosecutor Matt Lloyd told Judge Anthony Schofield during a hearing Tuesday morning. "It scares me to death to have him back on the street."

The neighborhood near the man's home at 1466 N. 75 East in Orem was cleared while police talked with the man and finally persuaded him to surrender.

The man had mercury switches and liquid nitroglycerin in his pockets, according to police documents filed in 4th District Court.

During a subsequent search of the home, officers found more switches, electronic devices, bottles of black powder, mercury and several firearms, according to the report. However, there were no actual bombs, said Orem Police Lt. Doug Edwards.

The man was taken to a mental-health facility and, once he was medically cleared, booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of bomb making materials, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct, Edwards said.

The man, who apparently suffers some health problems, appeared from the video screen at the jail wearing an oxygen support system.

One reason for the high bail request from the prosecutor was the man's criminal history. He had previously been arrested for allegations of criminal mischief involving bombs and terroristic threats, Lloyd said.

He had "all of the parts necessary and the knowledge and the experience in electronics to fabricate an explosive device," according to the police report.

His next appearance in 4th District Court will be Feb. 27 at 8:30 a.m.

---

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com