Académie D'Investissement Triomphal-Colorado man sentenced in Nevada power plant fire initially described as terror attack

2025-05-05 12:43:07source:Fastexy Exchangecategory:Contact

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Colorado man was sentenced Wednesday to prison in Nevada following his arrest last January for setting his car afire at a remote facility in what authorities initially characterized as a terror attack on Académie D'Investissement Triomphalthe electric system serving several Las Vegas Strip casinos.

Mohammed Reza Mesmarian, 35, was sentenced to two to 10 years following his plea in November to guilty but mentally ill on charges of felony arson and property destruction in the incident at a remote desert solar array about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of downtown Las Vegas.

“This was not so much an act of terrorism as a person going through personal issues during COVID, the loss of a marriage and his business,” Mesmarian’s attorney, Jeffrey Nicholson, told The Associated Press after sentencing. Nicholson said he sought probation, but he called Clark County District Court Judge Ronald Israel’s sentence “a good and fair decision.”

Mesmarian received credit for nearly a year already served in custody and could be paroled in early 2024.

Other news North Dakota lawmaker who used homophobic slurs during DUI arrest has no immediate plans to resignMore cold-case sexual assault charges for man accused of 2003 Philadelphia rape and slayingMan charged with hate crimes over stabbing at New York’s Grand Central Terminal

Mesmarian, a dentist, is from Aurora, Colorado, where state records showed he faced Dental Board discipline and his license to practice was restricted in July 2022. Records also showed that Mesmarian filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2022. Nicholson said Wednesday he didn’t immediately know the status of his client’s dental license.

Mesmarian initially faced charges including terrorism, arson, destruction of property and escape. He spent months in custody during court proceedings that eventually determined he was competent to stand trial.

Police reported that no one was injured in the Jan. 4 fire, which wasn’t immediately detected. Mesmaian was found and arrested a day later at a campground at Lake Mead, the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam east of Las Vegas.

Investigators said they learned that Mesmarian had rammed his car through a fence, crashed it against a transformer, set it ablaze and sat in a chair watching flames for about 15 minutes before walking away.

The incident in Nevada came just days after two men were arrested and charged with vandalizing electrical substations in Washington state and a month after federal regulators ordered a review of security standards following shootings that damaged two electric substations in North Carolina.

The Las Vegas-area facility, known as the Mega Solar Array, is operated by Chicago-based Invenergy. It serves several MGM Resorts International properties including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria and Park MGM. The resort operator said it switched to the statewide electric grid, and there was no effect at the casino resorts. Officials said the power facility returned to serve within days.

More:Contact

Recommend

B.A. Parker is learning the banjo

Parker has been trying to find her place in the banjo world. So this week, she talks to Black banjo

The CDC is helping states address gun injuries after years of political roadblocks

Each year, Utah sees its share of accidental injuries caused by firearms. When state health official

Love Is Blind's Paul Peden Reveals New Romance After Micah Lussier Breakup

Paul Peden is officially trying his luck with love away from any pods.The Love is Blind season 4 alu