Authorities Say Moses Lake Man’s Fertilizer Bomb Was a Dud
The Moses Lake man who fantasized about "sending a message" to prove his point about lax security at his previous job site, had all the ingredients to make a fertilizer bomb, but his attempt to put the dream in motion was thwarted by both law enforcement during a routine traffic stop and his lack of bomb-making skills.
Ryan Palmer, 39, previously worked for Nutrient AG Solutions in Moses Lake as a chemical driver until 2015.
He said he believes the AG industry did not have “safe work practices” and blamed them for his daughter’s birth defects. He admitted to going to Nutrient and walking around the plant with nobody confronting him. He said he walked around the facility over 20 times to prove how easy it could be for someone to build a fertilizer bomb and blow up the facility. Some family members say Palmer's mental health and judgement have been affected and altered by years of struggling with drug addiction.
According to court documents:
“Ryan had his homemade explosive mortar device inside the vehicle, he advised he drove through the facility during business hours with the stolen fertilizer, minerals, diesel fuel, and his homemade mortar to prove if someone wanted to blow up the facility and do some damage, how easy it would be. At one point Ryan stated if he just wanted to shoot his mortar into the plant from a distance, the place would go up and no one could stop it....even though Ryan advised he did not plan to blow up the facility, he gave significant thought to how the act could be accomplished, went through several ways he could have caused damage or set off explosives at the plant, and took steps to obtain all the materials he believed would be required to complete the task intended. Then Ryan drove those materials in his 1998 BMW through the facility on more than one occasion."
Palmer copped to planning to drive through the plant with everything he took from Nutrient and go to the Tri-Cities plant, where he said he was going to talk to management and show them what he stole and how dangerous it would be if someone wished to inflict damage.
Palmer faces charges of second-degree burglary and attempted threats to bomb, and is being held in the Grant County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.