Jury to get case in Utah library explosion trial

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal jury in Salt Lake City is about to begin deliberating the fate of an Illinois man accused of bombing a downtown library in 2006.

U.S. attorney spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said today the jury was expected to get the case following closing arguments. Thomas Zajac has pleaded not guilty to charges that could get him decades in prison.

The September 2006 blast damaged a library window and forced 400 people to flee. No one was injured.

Prosecutor Eric Benson told jurors the 57-year-old Zajac was angry about his son’s 2004 drunken-driving arrest by Salt Lake City police.

Defense lawyer Deirdre Gorman says the charges against her client are out of proportion with what happened.