WEST JORDAN, Utah — A South Jordan man who fired at police from inside his explosives-filled home in 2020 was sentenced to spend a minimum of 11 years in prison Tuesday.
Ryan McManigal was found guilty this summer on six counts of using weapons of mass destruction and two counts of assault on a peace officer during the July 23, 2020 incident which forced neighborhood evacuations and eventually led to his home being demolished.
“At the root, I’m not a bad guy and my intentions were never wicked,” said McManigal at the sentencing. “I just wanted my life back.”
Judge Matthew Bates sentenced McManigal to five years to life for two of the counts of weapons of mass destruction, and 1-15 years for one of the assault counts. All three sentences will run consecutively. The other sentences will run concurrently.
Bates did give McManigal 1050 days of time-served.
“One thing that seems clear is that the defendant’s actions could easily have gone from planning and preparation to mass destruction, whether by design or by accident,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Ethan Rampton.
Police reported that McManigal was upset at people in a nearby Culver's restaurant and began posting threatening online comments and text messages.
As officers approached McManigal's home in an armored vehicle, he shot through the front door. During his trial, McManigal testified that he shot through the front door so that it “would slow down the bullets.”
"If I had intended to actually kill an officer, I would have went around a different room and fired more rounds than I did," McManigal said in July.
“I don’t think you could’ve known what or who was on the other side of that door. You’re fortunate that it was an armored vehicle that was able to withstand the shots you were firing at it,” said Bates.
After McManigal was taken into custody, he told officers he had 10 to 15 gallons of the explosive Triacetone Triperoxide, also known as “mother of Satan,” inside the home, as well as in a refrigerator in his garage and a basement tub.
“This was not a minimal amount [of explosives], this was a significant amount and as was been reported that the blast radius was almost 1,000 yards out there,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Gill at the time.
The explosives found in the upstairs portion of the home were taken outside and detonated, while the others were detonated in the basement.
During his trial, McManigal claimed building the explosives was "therapeutic" and said a mental condition leading up to the incident began with an estate battle against his sister.
"I was feeling horrible," he testified. "My mental health was in the toilets, I guess you could say, it was a downward spiral."
McManigal said that while he “fantasized about hurting his sister,” he only intended to use the explosive at the Salt Flats.
The judge described McManigal’s testimony as “chilling.”
“In state courts we don’t often see the sort of risk where there was the potential to have many, many, many people injured or killed by your activities,” said Bates.
Months after McManigal's arrest, an explosion from what his sister called a "booby trap bomb" inside the home injured a cousin. The home was eventually demolished in June 2021 as neighborhood residents became concerned over safety issues.
