Fred Meyer Bomber Gets Nearly 6 Years In Prison

PORTLAND, OR — Nearly two years after pleading guilty to setting off a homemade pipe bomb in a Southeast Portland Fred Meyer store, Monte Robin Kaija, Jr. was sentenced to just over 5 years in federal prison. The sentence was announced July 16.

Kaija, 47, a Portland resident, was arrested in August 2016, nearly three months after setting off the bomb on May 21, 2016. Prior to his arrest, but after setting off the bomb, Kaija also reportedly committed a burglary at a home on Southeast Woodstock Boulevard. Last Friday, he reportedly pleaded guilty to one count of burglary in relation to that case.

It's unclear how the two verdicts will affect each other.

According to court documents obtained by Patch, Kaija was not only captured on surveillance video leaving the PVC pipe bomb in the "Travel Size" section of the Fred Meyer store, his DNA was also matched to piece of tape that was recovered from the scene of the explosion.

No one was injured when Kaija set off the bomb, police said, and only the single aisle was damaged.

After identifying Kaija via his DNA, officers arrested him at a motorhome on Southeast 96th Avenue in Portland on Aug. 31, 2016. Following Kaija's arrest, police found another homemade explosive — a metal pipe bomb — in the motorhome.

As if setting off a bomb in the Fred Meyer wasn't enough, prosecutors also pointed out that Kaija's status as a previously-convicted felon prohibited him from possessing the explosives in the first place.

Ultimately, on Dec. 12, 2016, Kaija pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device. Upon his release from prison, Kaija will begin three more years of supervised probation.

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