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 Ajani, 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 Tredwell 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.