Agent testifies on explosives in activist's home
Carlos Miller
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 10, 2003 12:00 AM
Laro Nicol, described by his friends as an avid peace activist, had two
homemade explosive devices and a fully automatic machine gun at his house
when authorities raided it last week, a federal agent testified in
court.
Also in the Goodyear Airport air traffic controller's Tempe home were six
semiautomatic guns, several types of gunpowder and fuses, and a few
manuals on how to build explosives.
One of the explosives was a pipe bomb that produced "a violent
explosion" when detonated by the Phoenix Police Department's bomb
squad, said Tristan Moreland, an agent for the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
But authorities found no evidence indicating that the 40-year-old man was
going to use the weapons to harm anybody or damage any property, Moreland
testified at Nicol's arraignment Friday in U.S. District Court.
That was no surprise to Nicol's attorney, Douglas Passon, who argued that
his client is nothing but a former U.S. Marine whose hobby is building
"model rockets," which entail the use of materials similar to
those in bomb making. Passon added that one of the explosive devices
taken into evidence was nothing more than "a big firecracker"
made out of cardboard.
However, Passon failed to persuade a federal judge to release Nicol on
his own recognizance. Calling Nicol "a danger to the
community," U.S. District Judge David L. Duncan ordered him to
remain in custody. Nicol, who pleaded not guilty, will be tried April
22.
Nicol's supporters believe the case against him stems from the fact that
he is a member of Phoenix Copwatch, a Valley grassroots group that
videotapes officers making arrests in order to prevent police brutality.
"I think that definitely plays into it," said Phoenix Copwatch
member Heather Adani, 26, one of several members attending the
arraignment. "It raises a red flag."
Less than three years ago, Nicol helped former federal fugitive Howard
Mechanic publish an alternative newsletter while Mechanic served time in
jail for throwing a cherry bomb during a Vietnam War protest in 1970.
Mechanic had been living under the alias Gary Tredway and was running for
the Scottsdale City Council when his true identity was revealed in 2000.
Less than a year later, President Clinton pardoned him.
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