SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The second of two suspects charged with planting a pipe bomb that detonated at a Kearny Mesa hotel earlier this year but caused no injuries was sentenced Wednesday to two years behind bars.
Grover Preston Everett, 39, received the same sentence that co- defendant Hans Jurgen Sarda, 30, was given last week.
Both defendants pleaded guilty earlier to charges of recklessly or maliciously possessing a destructive device for placing an explosive on the second floor of the Four Points by Sheraton. The device was set off on the morning of Feb. 24, though it did not result in any injuries and only minor damage to the hotel.
According to Deputy District Attorney Christina Eastman, the device that detonated was a steel-threaded pipe containing powder-actuated loads. It was placed near a pair of vending machines, where it went off minutes after Everett and Sarda left the hotel.
SDPD Lt. Adam Sharki said tips from the public led investigators to the suspects, who were arrested about a week after the explosion.
Police and prosecutors have not disclosed a suspected motive for the bombing, though their motivations could have been revealed during a preliminary hearing set for earlier this year, which would have prompted prosecutors to lay out what evidence they believed supported the charges against both men.
However, Everett and Sarda pleaded guilty on the date of their scheduled preliminary hearing, with each man agreeing to a stipulated two-year jail term.
