Fake bomb is real trouble

WASILLA — A fake bomb that drew a response from a military bomb squad landed a 32-year-old man in jail Sunday.

Alaska State Troopers report that officers were summoned to Ebro Circle in the neighborhoods north of Bogard Road and west of Trunk Road at 1:14 p.m.

In the driveway of the home, “troopers responded and observed an item that appeared could be an explosive device,” according to the press release.

Troopers, in turn, called in an explosive ordinance disposal team from Elmendorf Air Force Base, which dismantled the device. The device “was found to be harmless items fashioned to resemble an explosive device,” according to the press release.

AST spokeswoman Megan Peters said in an e-mail that the device was cobbled together from “common household items” like foil, tape, electrical wires and a digital timer.

Through their investigation, troopers wound up at a home on Vale Avenue where they arrested Seyran Andreasyan, 32, of Wasilla. They say he was the one who built the fake bomb. Trooper reports do not say why he allegedly put it in that driveway on Ebro Court.

Peters wrote that she had very little information she could release regarding the relationship between Andreasyan and the person he’s alleged to have threatened with the fake bomb.

“I don’t have any information that we can release about the nature of the dispute except that the victim and defendant were acquaintances and had some sort of falling out,” Peters wrote.

Andreasyan was charged with second-degree terroristic threatening and jailed on $5,000 bail. His first court appearance was Monday in Palmer.

The charge he faces alleges that Andreasyan falsely reported a situation dangerous to human life. Peters said it carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Jail records Monday afternoon showed he was still residing in the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. Court records list a lengthy history for Andreasyan, including charges of assault, drug misconduct and robbery in the Valley and in Anchorage dating as far back as 2003.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.