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James Luca, age 46, of North Merrick, was arraigned on terrorism and related charges in Nassau County Court on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in connection with an attempted bombing at the Nassau County Department of Social Services building in Uniondale.
Prosecutors said Luca and a co-defendant, 25-year-old Jayson Reyes, of North Merrick, arrived at the building on Charles Lindbergh Boulevard at around 2 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, intent on killing dozens of government workers.
Luca was upset and aggrieved, blaming Nassau County Child Protective Services for revoking his visitation rights with his children, prosecutors said.
While Reyes served as lookout, Luca reportedly placed a 20-pound propane tank and another one-pound camping propane tank, both adorned with torches, near the building’s entrances.
Surveillance video reportedly shows him throwing lit flares at the tanks in an attempt to ignite them. Neither device exploded.
Both men then left the area without causing any damage or injuries.
The agency’s director of investigations discovered the tanks later that morning and alerted police. Multiple agencies, including the Nassau County Police Department’s arson and bomb squad, responded to the scene and evacuated the building.
Investigators later discovered another 20-pound propane tank a short distance from the scene, along with an abandoned vehicle containing additional road flares.
Luca and Reyes were arrested Thursday, Oct. 3. In court Wednesday, Luca was indicted on the following counts:
- Crime of terrorism (felony)
- Two counts of criminal possession of a weapon (felony)
- Obstructing of governmental duties by means of a bomb (felony)
- Conspiracy (felony)
- Attempt to commit the crime of arson (felony)
Luca pleaded not guilty and was held at the Nassau County jail while his case proceeds. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
The case marks the first time the Nassau County District Attorney's Office has prosecuted a terrorism charge.
“James Luca’s alleged actions, his plotting, and his attempts to ignite an explosion at a government building where dozens of public servants work to serve our county every day, justifies this significant upgrade in charges,” said Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly. “Luca now faces the potential of life in prison for his radical violence.”
The charges aren’t the first for Luca, who was accused of throwing an explosive device onto the hood of a woman’s car in North Merrick in February 2023, as reported by Daily Voice.
In that incident, the device exploded, damaging the vehicle. Nobody was injured.
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