LOGAN — A 20-year-old former Utah State University student has confessed to mixing chemicals in his dorm room, resulting in the evacuation of the entire building on two occasions. Joshua Peter Jager is no longer a student and been banned from campus, according to university officials.
Jager appeared Monday, April 28 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to recklessly causing a catastrophe, a class A misdemeanor. As part of the resolution, a disorderly conduct infraction was dismissed.
According to prosecutors, USU police officers were originally called to a fire alarm at the Mountain View Tower on Jan. 13. The source or the alarm was traced to Jager’s room, where he originally claimed he was boiling water and vinegar to make potatoes.
Officers reported that when they entered the room, they discovered a large amount of chemicals, including silver nitrate and potassium carbonate. They also found various machinery, tools and large quantities of batteries.
Emergency crews responded to another fire alarm at the same dorm, Jan 16. As they entered the first floor, Jager met them and admitted to setting the alarm off again.
Jager told police that he had found more chemicals and was attempting to “neutralize” them. This caused a large amount of hydrochloric acid gas to accumulate, producing a strong chemical smell throughout the first floor of the tower.
On Jan. 21, USU Police requested the FBI assess the situation and survey the room again after Environmental Health & Safety found a small piece of uranium ore. The compound is generally safe in its solid form and in small quantities so long as it is handled and stored properly.
The incidents prompted the mass evacuation of students and required decontamination efforts, estimated between $10,000-$20,000, not including labor costs. University officials confirmed that while all chemicals found were legally available, they violated housing policies.
Jager was briefly booked into jail at the time of the incidents and later released on $2,500 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 9 and could face up to one year in jail.