“This was not so much an act of terrorism as it was a user going through personal COVID issues, the loss of a marriage and his business,” said Mesmarian’s attorney, Jeffrey Nicholson. to The Associated Press after the sentencing. Nicholson said he asked for probation, but called Clark County District Court Judge Ronald Israel’s sentence a “good and fair decision. “
CO MAN SAYS HE LIT THE FIRE AT A SOLAR NV SITE TO SHOW HIS SUPPORT FOR CLEAN ENERGY
Mesmarian received credit for nearly a year already served in custody and could be paroled in early 2024.
Mohammed Mesmarian appears in court at his arraignment at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 10, 2023. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Mesmarian, a dentist, is from Aurora, Colorado, where state records showed he had been disciplined through the Dental Board and his license to practice was limited in July 2022. Records also showed that Mesmarian filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2022. Nicholson said Wednesday he hadn’t. I don’t immediately know the prestige of your client’s dental license.
Mesmarian was first charged with terrorism, arson, destruction of assets and absconding. He spent months in detention in a judicial process that finally convinced us that he was competent to stand trial.
A terror suspect who set fire to a Nevada solar power plant is deemed unworthy of 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 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 protection criteria in the wake of shootings that damaged two electrical 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 service within days.