Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office

Jared Atkins

A Phoenix man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Federal prosecutors said Jared Atkins went on a crime spree in April 2019. First he stabbed a gas station clerk. Then he went to his job at a tech company and stole three devices that held a radioactive element, plus the tools needed to release it. Atkins next set fire to a car outside a Mesa car dealership.

Prosecutors said security footage showed Atkins driving next to Scottsdale Fashion Square, where he considered making a final stand.

Instead Atkins went to the Payson area, opened one of the devices to kill himself, but then closed it.

Atkins then drove to his Phoenix apartment and had a standoff with police and the FBI before surrendering.