Gloucester City Man Receives 5-Year Prison Term For Deploying Homemade Explosive at Ftiness Center

A Camden County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 60 months in prison for setting off a homemade bomb at a fitness center, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced today.

Dwayne Vandergrift, 40, of Gloucester City, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen Williams in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of malicious use of explosive materials.

Judge Williams imposed the sentence on Aug. 10, 2022, in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In the early morning hours of Aug. 28, 2020, Vandergrift deployed a homemade explosive device at a Gloucester City fitness center.

The bomb damaged the gym’s door and entryway.

The gym had not yet opened for the day, and no one was inside. Law enforcement officers later searched Vandergrift’s home and located additional materials for building explosive devices and firearms. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Williams sentenced Vandergrift to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, South Jersey Resident Agency, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the Gloucester City Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey R. Harteis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden, New Jersey.