A Utah State University student was arrested after authorities say he contaminated his dorm with hydrochloric acid gas, forcing mass evacuations, just hours after being questioned by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Joshua Peter Jager, 20, was arrested Thursday night and is charged with causing a catastrophe recklessly and disorderly conduct, according to an indictment.
USU authorities responded to a fire alarm just before 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Mountain View Tower and found the entire first floor covered in a vaporous substance, later found to be hydrochloric acid gas, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in 1st District Court.
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The alarm prompted a “mass evacuation” of every person who lived in the dormitory, and involved EMS, Logan Fire Department, Logan HAZMAT and USU Police, according to court documents.
Days earlier, USU Police officers responded to Jager’s Mountain View Tower dorm on Monday, after a fire alarm was triggered in his room, according to court documents.
He allegedly told authorities he was boiling water and vinegar to make potatoes, but they later found a large stash of chemicals – including silver nitrate and potassium carbonate – along with machinery, tools, and many batteries.
Suspecting there might have been “drug or explosive making,” police called bomb technicians to the scene, where they confiscated the chemicals, according to the affidavit. The room was later deemed safe, and Jager was told to remove all chemicals and stop cooking in his dorm.
Jager was brought into the USU Police Department at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and questioned about the reason for the chemicals in his room, according to court documents. He claimed he had the chemicals for years and did not use them to create an explosive or drug.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force joined the interview and questioned him about “any ties that he has to any terrorist organizations,” which he denied, according to the affidavit. He claimed he made a “mistake” by bringing the chemicals into the dorm.
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He was then wanted by the FBI and a certified peace officer to cease using chemicals and if he found any other chemicals in his dorm, to contact the police so they could be properly disposed of, according to court documents.
During the mass evacuation, which happened just six hours after the FBI questioning, Jager admitted to setting off the alarm and said he found more chemicals that he was attempting to “neutralize.”
Cache County District Court Judge Angela Fonnesbeck granted Jagger $2,500 bail Friday morning, according to a court order.
Everyone who was forced to leave the dorm had to walk through the gas, causing a “contamination issue,” according to the affidavit.
An initial estimate of clean up and restoration was approximately $10,000 to $20,000, according to court documents. Labor and overtime costs will add “substantially” to the expense.
In a statement released on Friday, the university said the investigation is ongoing and “other charges” may be added.
“USU Housing found spaces in other USU buildings and on an Aggie Shuttle bus to keep student residents out of the elements while they waited to determine if decontamination was needed or to be let back into their room around midnight,” according to the statement. “No other students needed to be decontaminated.”
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Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Krystin Deschamps sent a message to Mountain View Tower residents saying the CARE Office is available to help with academic issues caused by the evacuation.
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