See also: ATF, Glendale P.D. Trying to Find Out Who Bombed a House for the Third Time
Gary Vogt, 50, was arrested this morning by Glendale police and ATF agents, and is accused of being the guy who bombed the same Glendale house three times.
Vogt's possible motivation, according to documents filed in federal court, was that Vogt was "unhappy" with the man who lived in the house, Richard Gray, who holds a position in the Deer Valley Unified School District.
The latest bomb -- which the ATF is calling an improvised explosive device -- exploded in the driveway of the house last week, after it was placed between the residents' cars.
The device actually consisted of two pipe bombs, but the other pipe bomb remained intact, and was launched across the street -- through the window of a vacant house, through two interior walls, and landed in the back of the house, actually protruding from the exterior wall in the backyard, an ATF spokesman told New Times.
The house was targeted with bombs in June and July 2011, and somehow, no one was injured in any of the three bombings.
The exact reasoning behind the bombings isn't explained, but the school district employee says he would consider Vogt to be his "nemesis."
According to the complaint, investigators checked out local home-improvement stores to find out if they'd recently sold materials similar to those used in the latest bombing.
One of those sales was found at a Home Depot store on the west side, off Interstate 17.
According to surveillance footage and store records, a man came in and paid cash for end-caps and a pipe nipple, who looked like the man from the bombing surveillance video at the Glendale house, and was also driving the same car.
A check at a nearby Lowe's store found the same purchases by the same man a couple weeks after that.
Although neither Gray nor his wife recognized the man from the surveillance footage, Gray did recognize something the man was carrying on his shoulder. He recognized it as a portable oxygen tank, the same kind Vogt totes around.
Here's how the complaint summarizes their relationship:
"During his job, he has had several work-related encounters with Mr. Vogt. Mr. Gray advised that he has been dealing with Mr. Vogt for the last three or four years. Mr. Gray advised that Mr. Vogt has been unhappy on several occasions with the services and or rulings of the Deer Valley Unified School District and is someone who has made his displeasure known. Mr. Gray advised that although the rulings regarding the services are not his sole purview, he is clearly the face of the district and its decisions in these types of matters. Mr. Gray believes that Mr. Vogt would consider [the victim] his nemesis."
According to records from the state's education department, Gray is a psychologist, and also appeared in several state administrative hearings over parents challenging the district's decisions made under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It's certainly not clear whether that's the case here, since names are redacted from all those records.
Vogt was arrested early this morning, according to Glendale police, and faces several federal charges for allegedly violating explosives laws.
