From all appearances, Nathan Mecham and his younger brother are just two regular kids who grew up in a family of 11 children in an average Sandy neighborhood.
It's a normal situation, maybe, "but the boys have always had a fascination for experiments and stuff like that," said a neighbor.That fascination apparently got out of control. The two are now in police custody, under investigation for a variety of explosives-related charges after fire crews found a small-scale bomb factory Monday at the Mecham home, 1457 E. Lancaster Circle (11210 South).
"This isn't just kids fooling around anymore. There's some deadly stuff in there," said Sandy Fire Battalion Chief Don Chase, referring to pipe bombs, blasting caps, gunpowder components and detonation cord discovered in the home.
The drama, which forced officials to evacuate 10 homes around the Mecham residence for the entire afternoon, began quietly Monday morning with the arrest of Nathan Mecham in Ephraim.
Mecham, 19, was booked into the Sanpete County Jail after Ephraim police questioned him about four recent explosions, two of which were on the Snow College campus, where Mecham is a first-year student in computer science. (See accompanying story.)
As a courtesy, Ephraim police called Sandy police, who went to the Mecham residence and found in the garage one 5-gallon bucket partially full of blasting caps and another 5-gallon bucket partially full of an unknown mixture.
Eldredge then called the city fire department, which requested backup help from the Salt Lake County Fire Department's hazardous-materials unit.
The mixture in the bucket turned out to be an explosive combination of ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel. "It is a bomb that could take down the home and the one next to it," Chase said.
As fire crews were devising a plan to get rid of the fuel, the 14-year-old Mecham boy was brought to the scene. He apparently told investigators that there were some more blasting caps in his bedroom.
The boy's father then gave bomb crews permission to search the house.
City and county fire officials along with agents from the federal bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, however, found much more than a few dozen blasting caps. In various locations throughout the house, they found at least two pipe bombs, 1,000 feet of timed dynamite fuse and sundry ingredients used to make gun-powder.
"These boys are definitely experimenters," Chase said.
Upon discovering the cache of explosives, investigators handcuffed the 14-year-old Mecham boy and placed him inside a fire truck. The boy was later booked into the county juvenile detention center for investigation of possessing and manufacturing explosive devices. (The Deseret News has a policy not to name juvenile defendants unless they are charged as adults.)
His brother, Nathan, was booked in Sanpete County for investigation of three counts of destruction of property by explo-sives, one count of possession of stolen property and one count of possession of alcohol by a minor. Bail has been set at $31,000, a jail official said.
In addition to the state charges, the suspects, neither of whom has been in legal trouble before, could face federal charges. The ATF will investigate whether the materials were obtained from federal institutions or were transported by the suspects across state lines.
In an interview before the 14-year-old's arrest, parents David and Tricia Mecham said they were surprised by the discovery of the ammonium nitrate/diesel fuel mixture and have no idea where their sons might have gotten the idea or obtained the blasting caps, which can render the mixture into a bomb.
David Mecham, a computer programmer, speculated that Nathan may have learned about the bombmaking technique in the National Guard, which Nathan joined a year ago.
Tricia Mecham said, "I don't think the boys know how dangerous it is." She described Nathan, however, as one who is always "pushing limits."
The parents were visibly upset after the discovery of the additional explosives and the arrest of their 14-year-old son.
County Fire Capt. Dennis Steadman said the parents seem to have been unaware of the explosives materials, which are illegal to obtain or possess without a permit.
Steadman said the materials represented a high danger to the family and neighbors.
"It's fortunate the stuff was discovered before something happened."
Bomb experts neutralized the volatile ammonium nitrate/diesel fuel and took it to a remote site along with the other explosives. The materials will be destroyed once they are no longer needed as evidence, Chase said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Late-night bombings rattle Snow College
For nearly three weeks, Snow College officials and local police have been trying to locate a mysterious bomber whose midnight explosions had disturbed Ephraim's peace of mind.
Four explosions rocked the winter stillness on four nights between Thanksgiving and Dec. 16, which was the night before the last day of final exams, said school President Gerald Day.
One blast destroyed a garbage can behind the humanities building; another destroyed a multiple mailbox at an off-campus housing complex; another exploded in a campus alley, breaking windows and loosening the bricks of a building; and a fourth bomb exploded harmlessly on a playing field.
Because the explosions occurred between midnight and 2 a.m., they probably were not intended to hurt anyone, Day said. "But if people had inadvertently been in the area, they would have been harmed."
Police had few clues in the bombings until about a week ago, when the college received an anonymous tip.