OGDEN -- Officials detonated a bomb found Saturday in the home of shooting suspect Matthew David Stewart.
Stewart is accused, but not yet charged, in the shooting of six police officers, one fatally, as they served a Weber Morgan Narcotics Strike Force warrant Jan. 4 at his home at 3268 Jackson Ave.
Stewart was also injured in the gunfire and remains under guard at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
His home was still a crime scene Sunday afternoon, with police tape still in place to cordon off his residence and those of his immediate neighbors.
On Saturday, Weber Crime Scene Investigation unit technicians came across the bomb in a closet of the home.
A news release on the incident is expected today from the Weber County Attorney's Office.
The neighborhood was evacuated, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms was called in, said a source close to the investigation speaking on condition of anonymity. The bomb couldn't be moved and was detonated inside the home, he said.
"They also found a picture of the suspect dressed as a terrorist," he said. "He was posing in a suicide bomber's vest."
The source had no detail on the type of bomb or any indications of a link with Stewart and any terrorist group. "I have no idea what any of it means," he said.
"It consisted of chemicals," said another source with knowledge of Saturday's bomb, also speaking anonymously. "I'm not sure how complete it was, but a controlled explosion was needed to dispose of it."
Officials in the Ogden Police Department who were on duty Saturday were not immediately available for comment Sunday, because the entire force was given the day off in a show of support from area agencies pitching in to cover their shifts.
Acting Ogden Duty Lieutenant Kevin Burns, a Weber County Sheriff's lieutenant, declined comment and referred any inquiries to the Weber County Attorney's Office, whose officials could not be reached for comment.
Killed in the Jan. 4 confrontation was veteran agent, Jared Francom, 30, of Hooper. His funeral is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Dee Events Center on the Weber State University campus, where officers from around the country are expected to attend. His obituary is on page 7A.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ogden stake and others are planning to honor Francom on Wednesday by posting hundreds, if not thousands, of flags along the corridor from the Dee Events Center to the Ogden City Cemetery, where he will be interred.
Ogden, Utah, Stake President Shaun Meyers sent an announcement to 10 wards in his stake Sunday asking for help in the project.
Ogden City Councilman Doug Stephens said members of the council will discuss, in a work session Tuesday, ideas they have to honor Francom and the five other officers who were injured last week. On Sunday, Sgt. Nathan Hutchinson was the second officer to leave the hospital.
Stewart, 37, served in the Army from July 1994 to December 1998, with a year based in Fort Bragg, N.C., and nearly three years stationed in Germany, Army records show. He held a post as a communications equipment specialist, earning an Army Achievement Medal and a National Defense Service Medal. Both are given for completing active service.
Currently, Stewart had worked the night shift at a local Walmart, and his father said he suffers from PTSD that he may have attempted to self-medicate with marijuana.
Standard-Examiner reporter JaNae Francis contributed to this story.






Comments