Two Magna men charged with possessing hoax weapons of mass destruction after neighborhood evacuated

Related video: Magna man arrested for threat of terrorism after explosive device found underneath news media vehicle

MAGNA, Utah (ABC4) — The two Magna men

who were being federally investigated for allegedly placing an incendiary device under a news media vehicle in Salt Lake City have been charged for claiming that they had dynamite, causing their neighborhood to be evacuated.

Adeeb Nasir, 58, has been charged with two counts of possessing/manufacturing/using a hoax weapon of mass destruction (second-degree felony), and two counts of category two dangerous weapon conduct (third-degree felony). The other man arrested, Adil Justice Ahmed Nasir, 31, was also charged with two counts of possessing/manufacturing/using a hoax weapon of mass destruction (second-degree felony).

On Sept. 12, the Salt Lake City Bomb Squad and Unified Fire responded to reports of a suspicious device. The device was placed under a parked news media vehicle in Salt Lake City. Police said that the incendiary device had been lit, but failed to function.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation due to the public safety threat and tracked the suspects down to a residence in Magna. They served a search warrant on the residence.

According to the charging documents, Adil Nasir and Adeeb Nasir are being charged for the items found within the residence: two inert sticks of dynamite that they claimed were real and two handguns. Both men were restricted from possessing firearms due to their criminal history.

Due to the men claiming that the dynamite was real, the house and nearby homes were evacuated. A Unified Fire Authority investigator examined the dynamite and discovered that they were inert — fake/non-functioning — but had the “appearance of being actual dynamite.”

“Either he knew its true nature and created a heightened situation when it was not necessary or he believed he was in possession of and was casually storing explosives in his home, creating grave danger to himself and the surrounding community,” each man’s charging document reads.

Charges involving the placement of an incendiary device under a news media vehicle have not been filed, and that incident is being investigated by the FBI.

“These are state charges for the hoax dynamite and weapons found in the home that were observed in plain sight. We cannot comment on any investigation being conducted by our federal partners,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill is quoted in a press release from his office. “All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”

Adil and Adeeb Nasir are being held at the Salt Lake County Jail without bail.

Ryan Bittan contributed to this report.