2 Plead Guilty in Pipe Bomb Explosion at Kearny Mesa Hotel

2 Plead Guilty in Pipe Bomb Explosion at Kearny Mesa Hotel
In this file photo, emergency crews work at the scene of an accident, in San Diego on March 15, 2021. (Gregory Bull/AP Photo)
City News Service
6/16/2022
Updated:
6/16/2022
0:00

SAN DIEGO—Two men who planted a pipe bomb that detonated at a Kearny Mesa hotel, but caused no injuries, pleaded guilty June 16 to felony charges.

Grover Preston Everett, 39, and Hans Jurgen Sarda, 30, pleaded guilty to charges of recklessly or maliciously possessing a destructive device. The men are expected to be sentenced next month to two years in custody, which will be served in county jail.

The device was set off on the morning of Feb. 24 on the second floor of the Four Points by Sheraton on Aero Drive, according to the San Diego Police Department.

No injuries were reported, and the hotel sustained only minor damage.

Deputy District Attorney Christina Eastman said the device, a steel-threaded pipe containing powder-actuated loads, was placed near a pair of vending machines, where it went off minutes after Everett and Sarda left the hotel.

Police and prosecutors have not disclosed a suspected motive for the bombing.

San Diego Police Department Lt. Adam Sharki said that tips from the public led investigators to the suspects, who were arrested about a week after the explosion.