Man to stand trial in apartment blast

Bill Gang

Friday, Jan. 29, 1999 | 11:48 a.m.

The man whose apparent suicide attempt blew apart a portion of a Las Vegas apartment complex has been ordered to stand trial on two felony counts.

The bulk of the evidence against Michael McGilbra at his Justice Court preliminary hearing came from the defendant himself, who had spoken from his hospital bed to city and federal investigators.

McGilbra, 40, who sat in court in shackles and peering through thick glasses, declined to take the witness stand at the hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to hold him for a District Court trial.

Pro Tem Justice of the Peace Bert Brown determined the evidence supported felony charges of endangering property by explosives, and malicious injury to private property. The evidence also supports a gross misdemeanor count of performing an act in disregard of safety, Brown determined.

Arraignment in District Court is set for Feb. 11.

McGilbra originally had been charged with arson, but prosecutors determined the current charges better fit the crime because the apparent intent was not to set fire to the building but to commit suicide.

Special Agent Daniel Heenan from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms testified Thursday that McGilbra originally said he had no idea what caused the explosion at La Fiesta Apartments, 1492 N. Lamb Blvd.

But the agent said that McGilbra admitted his involvement when asked if investigators would find his fingerprints on a natural gas valve that had been disconnected behind a stove in the defendant's destroyed apartment.

After talking with the defendant for awhile, Heenan said he asked McGilbra "if he was still fostering the idea of hurting himself."

The federal agent said McGilbra responded in the affirmative and added that he had been lying in the hospital bed thinking of ways he might kill himself.

Heenan and Las Vegas Fire Department Investigator Daniel Thomas both testified that McGilbra said he tried to kill himself in opening the gas valve and inhaling the fumes. The gas apparently only caused him to fall asleep.

McGilbra admitted that when he awoke, he lit a cigarette with the intent to blow himself up, the investigators continued.

While the resulting blast tore the roof off a building and destroyed or damaged several units, it didn't accomplish McGilbra's stated goal, although it knocked him unconscious. He was hospitalized in the burn unit at University Medical Center for several days for treatment of second-degree facial burns.