KINGMAN, Ariz. — Nearly two dozen homemade bombs are off the streets of Arizona after an ATF operation caught a Kingman man who was allegedly making them out of his trailer. The operation included a fake story hatched by an undercover agent, who told Matthew Dach he wanted to prevent someone from testifying in a federal court case in California.
Federal court documents obtained by 12News say the undercover ATF agent contacted Dach at his trailer in Kingman and inquired about purchasing methamphetamine from him. After Dach told the agent Kingman was "dry" at the moment, the agent asked Dach about buying a firearm from him.
The federal complaints say the agent purchased a Tapco, Model: TAP-15, Caliber: 7.62, Rifle and 53 rounds of ammunition. The ATF quickly realized that Dach was in the process of making pipe bombs out of his trailer. Presumably to build trust with Dach, the ATF agent said he wanted to buy several of the homemade bombs to "make a statement," court documents say.
That "statement" would be to blow up a witness in his "brother's" federal court case in California. Dach told the agent the bombs he was making would blow up a vehicle and would surely result in the death of the witness.
“Primarily, it's transactional. Somebody wants to make money, and if they think they're comfortable with somebody that is also in the criminal element, then they go for it," Retired ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard Zapor said.
Dach is accused of telling the agent he would "go make a pipe bomb." That bomb would have ball bearings and would create shrapnel to increase the lethality, court records allege.
Zapor says these types of fake stories presented to people engaging in criminal activity are often for their own benefit. They often show the intent of someone who is willing to commit federal crimes.
“Things like that are really done for the defendant's benefit. In other words, you're giving somebody an opportunity to say, 'I'm not messing around here. I'm going to go do something really bad when you're helping me do it.' So here's your chance to get out of it," Zapor said.
Court records say Dach had the opposite reaction to the inquiry to purchase his homemade bombs. He's accused of "smiling, laughing and rubbing his hands together excitedly" because the device would "really hurt somebody," court documents say.
“Regular people from Arizona are listening to this nonsense. They're not going to be happy with somebody that knowingly provided destructive devices to somebody that had the intent of disrupting judiciary," Zapor said.
Before purchasing the pipe bombs, the agent asked Dach if the device would kill his intended victim. He is accused of saying "Oh yeah" and confirmed that the victim would not be testifying in the California federal case.
Dach is facing four federal charges tied to making destructive devices and intentionally distributing methamphetamine. If convicted, Zapor says he could go to prison for a very long time.
“You would be shocked about how long somebody could go away to the penitentiary for this," Zapor said. "You could get more time for what's described in that complaint than in some states for committing a homicide.”
12News reached out to the ATF Phoenix Field Division for comment on this federal case. Cody Monday, Public Information Officer with the ATF Phoenix Field Division, issued the following statement:
This is an ongoing investigation and we cannot comment on the specifics at this time. We can assure you that we will get answers to your questions at the appropriate time. Also, since there is pending litigation, we cannot comment on the matters of this case. ATF’s Phoenix Field Division is committed to ensuring the public’s safety and arresting those who willfully disregard the law
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